India has ordered 112 captive coal-fired power plants to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 through the end of December as the government prepares for an expected increase in electricity demand.
The federal Power Ministry issued the directive under emergency provisions of the Electricity Act. The order applies to captive power plants with installed capacity of at least 50 megawatts and is intended to ensure sufficient electricity supplies during the final months of the year.
The September 25 order said the measure was necessary because of an “expected rise in electricity demand in the coming months.”
Nearly 40% of India’s coal-fired power plants are operating with critically low fuel stocks as electricity consumption increases. Higher temperatures associated with the El Niño climate phenomenon have added to demand for power, particularly for cooling.
Many of the affected captive plants supply electricity to industrial operations, including aluminium smelters, steel producers, cement manufacturers and oil refineries. Their output is important to energy-intensive industries that require reliable electricity for continuous production.
The Power Ministry has instructed the generators covered by the order to sell surplus electricity through power exchanges when their output exceeds their captive consumption.
The 112 plants are operated by companies including Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, Bharat Aluminium, Hindustan Zinc and Nayara Energy.
Under the directive, operators must submit weekly reports to the Central Electricity Authority. The reports will include details of electricity generation, captive consumption, electricity sold through exchanges, available generating capacity and coal stocks.
The government is using the emergency measure to closely monitor both electricity production and fuel availability as demand rises.
Separately, the ministry has extended an earlier emergency directive requiring Tata Power’s imported coal-fired plant at Mundra in Gujarat to operate at full capacity until December 31. The extension was also linked to the expected electricity demand situation.
The measures come as India balances rising electricity consumption with pressure on coal supplies. Captive power plants are generally used by industrial companies to meet their own electricity needs, reducing their dependence on the wider power grid.
Section 11 of India’s Electricity Act allows the government, under extraordinary circumstances, to direct power generators to operate their facilities according to government instructions.
The latest directive gives authorities greater control over the availability of electricity from captive coal plants during a period when demand is expected to remain elevated.
The government will monitor plant operations through weekly data submitted to the Central Electricity Authority, including information on fuel stocks and available generation capacity. The arrangement is scheduled to remain in place through the end of December.
