India's coal stocks at power plants are rapidly depleting amid weak hydro output
and reduced evening solar generation. The Ministry of Power has ordered firms
with captive coal-fired capacity above 50 MW — including steel, fertilizer,
refinery and cement units — to operate plants at full load and sell surplus
power via power exchanges. The government extended a directive for Tata Power's
4 GW Gujarat plant to run at full capacity through December. Grid-connected
coal-fired inventories have fallen more than 50% YoY to their lowest level in
nearly three years.
