India’s power plants are stocked with a bumper supply of coal, even though power demand in June reached a record high of 250 gigawatts. This is 25 percent more than last year, and 71 percent more than 2022, when there was a domestic shortage of coal. The average national coal stock for thermal power units is currently 16 days.
The real catalyst for change has been the easing of transportation bottlenecks. While the domestic coal production during the summer months has increased 8-10% over last year, the easing of the transportation bottlenecks was the real catalyst for change. Imported coal accounts for 9-10% of the total stock of coal in the country.
According to senior officials in the coal ministry, the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, which will be operationalised in October 2020, is one of the major drivers for improved coal supply. “The rake movements on the EDFC routes have become three times faster. EDFC has helped to reduce the congestion that started from Mughalsarai and continued until Delhi-Punjab.
The average coal stock at the 20 thermal plants along the EDFC route or in its vicinity is 25 days. According to railway data, some of them have stock of up to 36 days.
The 1,300 km EDFC, which had been operational in parts, was seamlessly connected between Ludhiana, Punjab, and Sonnagar, Bihar. The corridor, which does not directly connect to coal-rich regions, allows Indian Railways to ensure smooth passenger and freight movement by shifting coal traffic to EDFC tracks.
The state currently leads with a demand for 28 Gw. This is more than the more industrialized states.
In May, the volume of coal transported by Indian Railways increased by 9 percent to 72 million tons. The Dhanbad Division of Indian Railways is one of the main players in the coal evacuation to powerhouses that fall under the EDFC. In 2023-24, the Dhanbad division loaded 188 million tonnes of coal. According to a senior executive, the division’s loading increased by 10% in May when heatwaves across the country caused a surge of demand. The division has so far loaded 44 million tons in 2023-24. This is almost 6 percent more than the previous year.
“DFCC runs 12 long-haul rakes on average every day.” The number can reach 15+ during peak times, said the executive. He added that 20 long-haul rakes passed through EDFC on 24th June. A long-haul can carry twice as much material as a regular rake.
Railways and Coal India Ltd. (CIL) have increased the rail lines in the coal-producing states of Odisha Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to decongest and provide seamless coal transport from the eastern region to the rest of the country. “There were two railway lines between Bilaspur Jharsuguda. There are now four. In Bilaspur two lines crossed each other: Howrah – Mumbai and Bilaspur – Katni. We have built a ‘rail-over-rail’ (RoR). This has reduced the delays at railway crossings,” said an official.
The operationalisation of 35 First-Mile Connectivity (FMC), which automate coal loading from mine to siding, is another way to decongest the coal supply chain. Officials claimed that the loading time for coal from mine to siding was reduced to 45 minutes, down from 3-4 hours.
According to the central administration, coastal shipping has also increased. The total thermal coal volume (coastal and imported) in non-major port has increased by 20 per cent between 2024-25, reaching 9.4 million tons.
First Published: Jun 26 2024 | 12:33 AM IST