Coal Stocks at Power Plants Hold Above 18 MT as Supply Rises

Coal stocks at domestic coal-based power plants have stayed above 18 million tonnes since September 29, the Ministry of Coal said on October 12. Coal India says it exceeded NTPC supply commitments in the first half of FY27.

Ministry of Coal Data Shows Stocks Steadying

Stocks at domestic coal-based power plants stood at 18.932 million tonnes (MT) on September 29 and at 18.205 MT on October 10, according to the ministry’s statement. The ministry said supplies have broadly kept pace with daily consumption at the plants.

Stocks rose on two days in October, by 0.024 MT on October 2 and by 0.017 MT on October 10. Over the first ten days of October, stocks fell by only about 0.56 MT in total, an average of about 0.06 MT per day.

In September, by contrast, stocks declined by about 7.28 MT over the month, an average of about 0.24 MT per day. The pace of depletion has therefore slowed considerably.

Supply and Rake Loading Both Rose in October

The ministry said coal supply to the power sector averaged 2.49 MT per day in October, up from 2.21 MT per day in September. Actual supply exceeded the supply plan of 2.37 MT per day on nine of the ten days up to October 10.

Railway rake loading to the power sector also increased. The comparison between the two months is shown below.

Rake loading averaged 469 per day in the first ten days of October, about 10% above September’s average of 426, and daily loading ranged between 447 and 482 rakes. The ministry added that supply to plants with critically low stocks is being closely monitored, and that coal is being redistributed to vulnerable stations based on their needs. It said it is working with Coal India, Singareni Collieries, the Ministry of Railways and power utilities.

Coal India Says It Exceeded NTPC Commitments

Coal India Ltd (CIL) said it supplied 97 million tonnes of coal to NTPC Ltd and its joint ventures during April to September of FY27. That is about 5% more than in the same period last year and about 1% above the level in the same period of FY25, the company told Business Standard.

CIL said it has been supplying coal above its commitment to NTPC under Fuel Supply Agreements in FY27, and that there has been no shortfall from its side. It added that it is also supplying coal to NTPC under bridge linkage.

Its overall dispatches to the power sector reached 302.8 million tonnes in the first half, which CIL described as the highest for any first half and 6% above the same period last year.

Inventory and Coal Quality Claims

CIL began FY27 with a record opening inventory of 130 million tonnes on April 1 and drew down about 63 million tonnes in the first half. Its pithead stocks stood at 67 million tonnes on October 1, compared with 78.7 million tonnes a year earlier.

On quality, CIL said the grade profile of coal supplied to power plants has not changed during the drawdown. Third-party sampling in FY27 showed a gap of around 67 kcal per kg between the weighted average declared and analysed gross calorific value, which CIL said is well within the 300 kcal per kg grade band.

CIL also said specific coal consumption was broadly stable at 0.69 kg per kilowatt-hour in the first half of FY27, against 0.68 kg in FY23 and 0.69 kg in FY26. It noted that imported coal blending fell from 35.1 million tonnes in FY23 to 6.8 million tonnes in FY26 and to around 1.2 million tonnes in the first half of FY27.

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Why NTPC’s Own Stock Position Draws Attention

CIL’s statement followed comments by a senior NTPC executive that most of the company’s power plants had coal stocks sufficient for only about a week. Business Standard had reported that NTPC’s coal stocks fell to 5.2 million tonnes from 18.7 million tonnes in April.

NTPC operates 50 power plants and is the largest buyer of CIL’s coal. It is also diversifying its coal sourcing beyond CIL, which remains its largest supplier, by buying from commercial and captive miners.

The figures describe different positions. The ministry’s 18.205 MT covers domestic coal-based power plants as a group, NTPC’s 5.2 million tonnes is the company’s own stock, and CIL’s numbers describe deliveries and pithead inventory upstream.