New Delhi: India has ordered 112 captive coal-fired power plants to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 through December 31 as electricity demand is expected to rise in the coming months.
The Ministry of Power issued the order under emergency provisions of the Electricity Act. The directive covers captive plants with installed capacity of at least 50 megawatts. Generators must sell surplus electricity through power exchanges after meeting their own requirements.
The plants mainly supply industrial facilities including aluminium smelters, steel manufacturers, cement factories and oil refineries. Companies covered by the order include Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, Bharat Aluminium, Hindustan Zinc and Nayara Energy.
The order comes as coal supplies remain under pressure. Nearly 40 percent of India’s coal-fired power plants are operating with critically low fuel stocks. Strong electricity demand and hotter-than-usual temperatures linked to the El Niño climate phenomenon are adding to pressure on the power sector.
The ministry has also directed generators to submit weekly reports to the Central Electricity Authority. Reports must detail electricity generation, captive consumption, power sales, available capacity and coal stocks. Separately, an earlier emergency order requiring Tata Power’s imported coal-fired plant at Mundra in Gujarat to operate at full capacity has been extended until December 31.
Section 11 of the Electricity Act allows the government to direct generators to operate power stations according to government instructions under extraordinary circumstances. The latest measures aim to maximise available generation as India prepares for stronger electricity demand through the end of the year.
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