India orders 112 captive coal plants to run at full capacity from October 1 as power demand rises

New business data points to the fact that India has ordered more than 100 captive coal-fired power plants to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 through year-end to meet what it anticipates will be a climb in electricity demand.

• The federal power ministry's order, invoked under emergency provisions of the Electricity Act, applies to plants with installed capacity of at least 50 megawatts

• The aim is to meet an "anticipated climb in electricity demand over the upcoming months," revealed the order dated September 25 and noted by Reuters

• Nearly 40% of coal-fired plants are operating with critically low fuel stock due to a surge in power demand as the El Niño climate phenomenon raises temperatures more than usual

• The plants primarily serve industrial facilities such as aluminium smelters, steel manufacturers, cement factories and oil refineries

• The power ministry has directed generators to sell surplus electricity through power exchanges

• The order covers 112 plants belonging to firms including Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, Bharat Aluminium, Hindustan Zinc and Nayara Energy

• The ministry has ordered plants to report weekly to the Central Electricity Authority detailing generation, captive consumption, power sales, available capacity and coal stocks

• Separately, the ministry has extended an earlier emergency order requiring Tata Power's imported coal-fired plant in Mundra, Gujarat, to operate at full capacity until December 31, citing the demand situation

• Section 11 of the Electricity Act allows the government, under extraordinary circumstances, to direct generators to operate power stations in accordance with its instructions