Coal stocks at thermal power plants improved to 53.6 million tonnes at the end of November, up 34% from the year-ago level as above-normal rains led to lower than anticipated electricity demand.
The stocks are at 86% of the normative level of 62.4 million tonnes, compared to just 67% in the same period of last year, data from the Central Electricity Authority showed.
Of the 188 thermal plants with a total generation capacity of 218.9 gigawatt (GW), 13 reported to have a critical stock level. Of these, 5 were domestic coal-based plants. A plant is said to have a critical stock situation when the dry fuel is less than 25% of the normative level. During the same period of last year, 28 plants had a critical stock level.
Impact of rains on coal stocks
Coal stocks at power plants have improved this year as above normal rains cooled down temperatures, lowering power demand and resulting in improved hydel generation.
Domestic coal-based thermal plants, including pithead and non-pithead, with a total capacity of 200.2 GW had 86% of the normative coal stock at 50.5 million tonnes. The normative level of stocks required at these plants is 58.1 million tonnes for this time of the year.
Imported coal-based non-pithead plants
The 17 imported coal-based non-pithead plants with a total generation capacity of 18.7 GW had coal stocks of 74% of the required level. The total coal stocks as on November 30 in the imported coal-based plants were at 3.1 million tonnes against a normative stock requirement of 4.2 million tonnes.
“While stocks remain slightly below normative levels due to monsoon-related mining disruptions, they are higher than in September 2024 and September 2023 levels, indicating a relatively stable supply position,” Ankit Jain, Vice President & Co Group Head – Corporate Ratings, Icra had earlier said.
The country’s peak power demand reached 241 GW this year as against CEA’s estimate of 270 GW. In 2024, the peak demand for power had touched 250 GW in May against the government’s projection of 260 GW.
The government expects the peak power demand to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7% in the next five years against the current CAGR of 6%.
State-owned Coal India has set a production target for FY26 at 915 million tonnes in line with the projected rise in demand.
Moving forward, the emphasis will be on maintaining consistent production, reducing supply interruptions, and making a substantial contribution to the country’s rising energy needs, the coal ministry had said.
The early and prolonged monsoon and high base effect have kept demand growth muted throughout FY26, with overall flat growth for the first seven months, as per Icra.
Reflecting this slowdown, the agency revised its full-year demand growth forecast down sharply to 1.5–2.0% from the earlier 4.0–4.5%, with expectations of some seasonal recovery during winter.
India added 25.7 GW of gross power generation capacity during April–September 2025, more than double the 10.7 GW added in the same period last year.
“The growth was primarily driven by the renewable energy (RE) segment, supported by developers rushing to commission projects before the expiry of the complete waiver on transmission charges on June 30, 2025. With a strong RE project pipeline, full-year capacity addition is expected to reach around 45-50 GW in FY2026, significantly higher than FY25 levels.