The Indian government will continue to operate power plants that use imported coal at full capacity until the end of September, according to an official order seen by Reuters on Monday.
The new deadline provides a more-than three-month extension to the previous timeline set out in February, which initially allowed coal plants to operate at full capacity until 15 June. The move comes as India prepares output for an expected record surge in power use during this summer to combat heat waves across the subcontinent.
Many of India’s power plants use imported coal, including those operated by Adani Power, a subsidiary of India’s energy giant Adani Group and Tata Power. However, these have not been operating at full capacity, contributing to the challenge of increasing demand.
"It has now been decided to extend the time period for... directive to imported coal-based generators, up to September 30," the order issued by the Ministry of Power said. The order was sent to JSW Ratnagiri, Essar Power Gujarat and 13 other coal plants totalling an output capacity of 17GW.
In a press release issued on Sunday, India’s Meteorological Department said that heat wave conditions are “very likely” to continue in parts of several states over the coming week, including in New Delhi, the country’s capital city.
India’s relationship with coal-based power has been in the spotlight in recent months. Emphasis on the importance of rapid global coal phase-out has pushed countries that are heavily dependent on coal power, such as India, to rethink its energy infrastructure as the transition to low-carbon and renewable sources picks up pace.
As a result, India has hopped between increasing its coal capacity to meet domestic power demand and halting new coal plant commissioning to better align itself with global climate efforts.
At the beginning of April, India’s Central Electricity Authority put out a blueprint for the country’s National Electricity Plan (NEP), which proposed an increase in coal capacity of between 17GW and 28GW until 2032. This was on top of 25GW of new capacity from coal plants currently under construction.
However, in the middle of May, the government announced plans to close approximately 30 coal mines in the next three years and use the land for creating forests and water bodies. Earlier this month, the government announced that it will not consider new coal-fired power plant proposals for the next five years to increase its renewable capacity. In an update to its NEP announced at the end of May, the Ministry of Power states predicted that non-fossil-based power capacity will increase to approximately 57% of the country’s total power mix by 2027, although reliance on coal is still likely to remain significant into the coming decade.
