State-run Coal India has asked its subsidiaries to ramp up coal supplies to power plants to avoid shortages as the country's power demand hits a record high following an intense heatwave, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Several regions in the country are facing power cuts, mainly at night when renewable output is not available, as record-breaking heat triggered by an El Nino weather pattern strains the grid.
As many as 21 power plants have critically low coal stocks, only enough to meet less than a week's demand, according to latest data from the Central Electricity Authority, the adviser to the power ministry.
The world's largest coal miner has directed its subsidiaries to maximise dispatches using all transport modes including rail links that move coal directly from mines to power plants, the sources said.
