Despite the surge in India's power demand, the import of coal for blending in the thermal power sector decreased by 27.9 percent in FY24 so far, Amrit Lal Meena, secretary, Ministry of Coal said on March 13.
"The share of imported coal in blending has reduced from 30.80 million tonnes (MT) last year (April, 2022 to March 12, 2023) to 22.20 MT this year until now. So, the reduction has been more than 27 percent," said Meena.
Pralhad Joshi, Union minister for coal, mines and parliamentary affairs, said, "That is why, despite the current mandate of blending imposed by the Ministry of Power, the Coal Ministry has been repeatedly reiterating that by FY26 imported coal in the domestic coal-based power sector will end. We are confident that our domestic coal production will be able to meet the needs of India's power sector, minus the imported coal-based power plants obviously."
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The minister added that coal stock at thermal power plants as of March 13 is as high as 44.6 MT, which was 31 MT during the same time last year. This year, the power ministry has put forward an estimate of 874 MT for the power sector, which Joshi said would be fulfilled by the coal ministry.
In India, power generation is diversified across conventional (thermal, nuclear, and hydro) and renewable sources (wind, solar, biomass, etc.). However, coal remains the predominant source, contributing over 70 percent to the total power generation.
The Ministry of Power has asked all generating companies to continue blending imported coal in thermal power plants till June 2024 instead of March. The blending percentage of imported coal for domestic coal-based power plants has been retained at 6 percent, according to a March 4 order.
The government is anticipating a peak power demand of 256.53 GW (256,530 MW) in 2024. However, on March 4, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) chairperson Ghanshyam Prasad said the peak power demand this year could even hit the 260-GW mark.
Last year (2023), it had projected a peak power demand of 230 GW, but the demand crossed an unprecedented 240-GW mark. The unusual surge in demand also resulted in an alarming spike in the country's power shortage, recorded at 10.745 GW (10,745 MW) on the same day (September 1).
The Union minister said that coal ministry will increase its production and the railways ministry is likely to increase the number of rakes provided to the power sector by about 7 percent to meet the surge in power demand.
PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan in Coal Sector
The Union minister also released the 'PM Gati Shati-National Master Plan in coal sector', which aims to offer in-depth insights into the coal sector through the geospatial layers available on the Ministry of Coal page of the PMGS-NMP portal.
Highlighting the significance of the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, Meena said the release of this master plan will empower all stakeholders with crucial information for planning and executing activities within the coal sector, thereby enhancing the ease of doing business and ensuring timely project execution.
It will help develop a smart, integrated, and sustainable coal logistics ecosystem, ensuring the availability of adequate infrastructure, optimizing logistics costs, and promoting modernisation through the adoption of information and communication technology.
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