Last year, the government had asked imported coal-based plants to run at full capacity to meet the surge in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
India has taken drastic measures to ensure that its power plants running on imported coal are operating at full capacity ahead of an expected record surge in electricity consumption from mid-March to mid-June. The government has invoked an emergency law to make this happen, according to an internal power ministry notice seen by Reuters.
The notice, sent to all imported coal-based power plants, requires them to operate at full capacity and sell electricity to buyers on exchanges. These plants have a total capacity of 17 gigawatts. The directive will come into effect on March 16, giving plants enough time to import coal before the surge in consumption. It will remain valid until June 15.
The variable tariff for these plants will be fixed by a government-appointed panel. The panel will use the index with the lowest cost of imported coal for calculating the variable tariff for each plant. The ministry expects a peak demand of 229 gigawatts in April and to address that, India would need to operate a thermal capacity of 193 gigawatts that month.
India is expecting its power plants to burn about 8 percent more coal in the financial year ending March 2024, as increased economic activity and erratic weather continue to drive up demand for power. This is the second time in two years that the emergency law has been invoked. Last year, the government had asked imported coal-based plants to run at full capacity to meet the surge in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Overall, India is taking steps to ensure that its imported coal-based power plants are able to meet the expected surge in electricity consumption this summer. The government’s directive will help ensure that these plants are running at full capacity and that electricity is available to consumers when they need it most.