India's power crunch deepens as 96 coal plants face fuel shortages

New Delhi: Half of India's 191 coal-fired power plants are operating with critically low fuel stocks due to a surge in power demand amid hotter-than-usual weather linked to El Nino, government data showed.

* The number of power plants with critically low coal stocks - which only have enough fuel supply to generate power for less than three days - rose to 96 as of October 19 from 60 plants in mid-September, data from the Central Electricity Authority showed

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* The shortages are occurring even as India's coal ministry said last week that it has ramped up supplies to power plants

* India's total coal stocks at power stations have fallen by about 5% since the beginning of the month, the data showed

* Daily peak electricity demand this year has been running about 45 gigawatts to 50 GW higher than a year earlier, partly because weaker monsoon rains reduced hydroelectric output and increased reliance on thermal plants

* In September, the gap between India's power demand and electricity supply increased to 560 million kilowatt-hours (kWh), the highest since August 2023, even as coal-fired plants increased output to meet strong demand

* Coal-fired generation rose 13.3% in September from a year earlier, while hydropower generation fell 20% from a year ago, the CEA data showed

* India is adding renewable energy, with nearly 55% of power generation coming from non-fossil-based sources, but a lack of batteries to save the clean energy is driving the South Asian nation to depend on coal-based power during high-demand periods