India’s coal fleet delivers nearly 70% of electricity in Q2

Stock stood at 42.8MT as of 12 July.

Coal- and lignite-based power plants, with about 230.8 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity, supplied 69.54% of India's electricity from April to June 2026, the government said.

The plants had 42.8 million tonnes of coal stock as of 12 July, sufficient for 14 days at an 85% plant load factor, whilst coal supplies are also sufficient to meet daily demand.

These plants achieved maximum generation of about 188.8 GW during non-solar peak demand hours, or around 75% of total generation of 251.4 GW.

"Coal supply to the Thermal Power Plants is presently being monitored on daily basis through a joint committee of Ministry of Power, Railways and Ministry of Coal," the government said.

It has also prioritised coal rakes and coal dispatches to power plants.

An inter-ministerial committee comprising the Chairman of the Railway Board, the Secretary of the Ministry of Coal and the Secretary of the Ministry of Power is held regularly to review coal supplies to thermal power plants.

India added 9,470 megawatts (MW) of thermal capacity in the 2025-26 financial year and commissioned another 2,260MW in the current financial year.

The government said scheduled maintenance of thermal units is planned in advance based on demand scenarios for different months, with maintenance minimised during peak months.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) monitors and permits deferment on a case-by-case basis if increased demand requires it, subject to the technical parameters of individual plants.

About 2,669 MW of battery energy storage systems and 7,426 MW of pumped storage projects have been commissioned to supplement thermal power generation during non-solar hours.

The systems store excess electricity generated during solar hours and use the stored electricity during non-solar hours, the government said.

The CEA's 2023 regulations require coal-based thermal power plants to achieve a minimum technical level of 40% under a phasing plan specified by the authority.