Coal stocks at domestic thermal power plants continued to be at least 57 million tonnes (MT) throughout June, marking the first time when the essential fossil fuel remained at a never seen before level for an entire month. The current levels indicate a significant improvement from the crisis faced between October and December 2021 when coal stocks depleted to zero at multiple thermal power plants leading to blackouts in several parts of the country.
As on June 28, stocks at domestic coal-based power plants were 57.88 MT. Officials from the Ministry of Coal told Moneycontrol that the number is going to remain at 57 MT or above for the last three days of June as well.
“Thermal power plants have been in a comfortable situation in terms of coal stocks throughout the summer months this year. But June has been even better because it is the first time that coal stocks at power plants have been more than enough to last 25-26 days every single day of the month,” said a senior ministry official who is not authorized to speak to the media.
In June, 2024, coal stocks hovered around 44 MT which is enough for power plants to run for 18 days. In June 2023, the stocks were around 34 MT, sufficient for approximately 13-14 days.
How did India manage to sustain record high coal stocks at power plants?
The record increase can be attributed to high coal production, improved coal logistics, and subdued power consumption due to erratic rainfall. The Indian government had estimated a peak power demand of 270 GW this summer, but the actual peak remained at 241 GW recorded on June 9.
India achieved a historic milestone by surpassing one billion tonnes of coal production in FY25, with a 4.99 percent growth in output compared to the previous year. The record high production reduced the country's coal imports by 8.4 percent, leading to substantial foreign exchange savings and a reduction in import dependency.
The National Coal Logistics Plan, launched in February 2024, attempted to solve a problem that is unique to India - while coal mines came up mostly on the eastern side of the country, major industrial development happened in the western part of India. This made evacuation of coal from the mines to the end-users (power plants or industry) a big problem.
The logistics plan includes building first-mile infrastructure at coal mines and also planning new railway lines for coal transportation. It has 14 rail infrastructure projects focused on improving coal evacuation from high-growth mining areas. All of them are currently in different stages of development, with some sections opened for quicker coal movement.
Implementing first-mile coal connectivity of coal has helped the country shift from manual to mechanised handling of coal. For example, over the years, there has been a notable increase in the share of coal loaded through silos - from 18.8 percent in 2022–23 to 29 percent in 2025–26 (till date) - demonstrating a clear and sustained push towards improving coal logistics.
Silo loading refers to the mechanized process of loading bulk materials (like coal) into railway wagons directly from a storage silo, rather than using conventional methods like front-end loaders or manual shovelling. Silo loading ensures uniform coal sizing, eliminates complaints related to oversized boulders from power plants, reduces damage to wagons, and enables reliable operations unaffected by adverse weather conditions.
Power plants well equipped for monsoons
The record stockpile now also provides reassurance of adequate stock for the monsoon period, when coal production and transportation often face challenges due to heavy rainfall, according to ministry officials.
In October 2021, India experienced a significant coal shortage, impacting thermal power plants and leading to blackouts in several states. The situation was exacerbated by the monsoon season, which disrupted coal supply and transportation. At the time, many power plants had critically low coal stocks, with some having less than a week's worth of supply. This resulted in power cuts and disruptions, prompting the government to take measures to address the crisis.
The record coal production also resulted in a 2 percent increase in supplies to the non-regulated sector such as cement, aluminium and steel. Coal dispatch to these industries increased to 32.59 MT in April and May 2025, compared to 32.08 MT during the same months in 2024.
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