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Government and industry data show 45 coal-fired power plants in India operating with critically low fuel stocks, up sharply from 31 at the end of July.
A plant is treated as critical when its coal inventory falls below 25 per cent of the required level or below three days of generation; 40 of the 45 are domestic coal-fired stations.
Total coal stocks at power plants fell about 19 per cent from end-July to 30.95 million tonnes, equal to roughly ten days of operation against twelve days in July.
Heavy monsoon rain in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh disrupted mining and slowed rail movement, with some plants receiving only half the five to six daily rakes they need.
The Power Ministry has asked thermal plants to defer scheduled maintenance to support grid demand.
India's coal problem in August is rarely a shortage of coal in the ground. Opencast mines flood, so extraction slows; wet coal is heavier and harder to load, so rakes carry less; and rail movement itself is disrupted. At the same time heat and humidity keep air-conditioning demand high, including overnight, when solar generation is absent and the load falls squarely on thermal plants. Supply falls exactly as demand holds up. That is why stocks are measured in days of cover rather than in tonnes: a plant burning coal faster than rakes arrive can hold a large absolute tonnage and still be critical.
Simple Analogy: It is a water tank with the tap half-closed and the outlet fully open - the level tells you less than how many days it will last at the current draw.
Statutory body that monitors plant-wise fuel stock, generation and power system data, and advises the government on electricity policy
India's largest thermal power producer, operating multiple coal-based stations dependent on railway rakes for fuel
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Inventory below 25 per cent of the required level, or fuel sufficient for fewer than three days of generation.
A full trainload of wagons; the standard unit in which coal is moved from mine to power station.
The number of days a plant can generate on the coal it holds - the operative measure, rather than absolute tonnage.
The statutory body that collects and publishes power sector data, including plant-wise coal stock.