NTPC may buy 10 million tonnes of coal from commercial mines

New Delhi: NTPC Ltd plans to procure around 10 million tonnes from commercial mines in the next six months ending March amid depleting coal stocks at power plants, a person in the know said.

This is beyond its plan to raise production from its own blocks to diversify procurement amid high demand, the person said. From the next fiscal, the company plans to buy around 10-15 mt coal annually from commercial mines, while targeting around 50 mt from its own mines.

This would be the second year when the company has procured from commercial mines. In FY25, it had procured around 4 mt. India's largest power generator is expected a coal requirement of around 300 mt in FY27, up 11% from FY26. Most of the company's supply comes from fuel supply agreements with state-run miners.


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India's power consumption has risen sharply as cooling and irrigation demand remained elevated in the first half of the financial year. The high power demand, especially in the non-solar hours, has led to more generation from thermal power plants.

Overall coal stock at thermal power plants were at 20.6 mt against the opening stock of around 55 mt at the beginning of the fiscal. July started with 44 mt after a sharp summer.

The depletion of the stock between July and September was despite higher year-on-year supply of coal. In comparison, power demand was much lower in the corresponding period last year.

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In September, power consumption rose 11.35% year-on-year to 162 billion units, while peak demand reached over 269 GW, unusually high for the month.

Monsoon is seasonally a lower production and dispatch month for coal. According to government officials, coal supplies are likely to increase further in the coming weeks.