As of Oct 4, media reported India’s coal-fired power plant inventories were near
a five-year low: about 69 plants, representing over 40% of national coal-fired
capacity, had coal stocks sufficient for four days or less. Unseasonably high
October temperatures and patchy rainfall have kept cooling, irrigation and
industrial electricity demand elevated. Coal deliveries are being disrupted by
heavy rains that have halted some mines and by persistent rail-transport
bottlenecks, forcing plants to draw down on-site inventories. The low stockpiles
raise the risk of widespread outages.
