Coal supplies to Indian thermal power plants are already higher than before. But even that is not enough to cover their demand. In recent weeks, coal-fired power generation plants have been struggling with a shortage of key raw materials.
The state-owned mining company Coal India supplied around 206 million tonnes of coal to Indian power plants between April and August. This is about 27 percent more than a year ago, and even eight percent more than in the period from April to August 2019. But India’s thermal power plants are facing huge demand for electricity, and so they are constantly struggling with a shortage of coal.
“Coal India supplied 1.7 million tonnes of coal a day to power plants in the last week of August. Never before in the history of August have deliveries exceeded 1.6 million tons per day, “said the mining company, according to Reuters. This year’s growth rate of coal supplies from April to August was the highest in the last seven years.
The Indian government has already encouraged domestic electricity producers to increase coal imports from abroad. However, due to the overall economic recovery in Asia, it will not be easy. Thin coal reserves are now a hallmark of the global market for this raw material. It is thus likely that the price of coal will go up.
