October Power Demand Rises 4.1%, Coal-Fired Output Up 1.8%: Report

The country's electricity demand grew 4.1 per cent in October, with supply falling short of demand by 1 per cent, despite a rise of 1.8 per cent in coal-fired generation and an increase of 28.4 per cent in solar output, a Reuters analysis of government data showed.

Demand boosted by increased economic activity after the second wave of coronavirus infections caused a shortage of coal that forced India's northern states to cut power last month for up to 14 hours a day.

The rapid demand surge and high global prices have left utilities scrambling for coal, the country's dominant fuel for power generation, despite record supplies from state-run Coal India, which has a near-monopoly of production.

India's power supply shortage of 1,201 kilowatt hours (KWh) in October was the worst since January 2017, data from federal grid regulator POSOCO showed.

Coal's share in India's electricity generation jumped to 70.6 per cent in October from an average of 66.5 per cent in September, the data showed.

More than half of India's coal-fired capacity now has inventories of three days or less, data from the power ministry shows.

The average coal inventory held by power plants would last four days, down two-thirds from the average of 12 days two months ago.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)