Coal India gears up to meet peak summer power demand, assures ample stocks

State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) on Friday said it is geared up to meet a potential surge in summer coal demand, dismissing concerns of domestic fuel shortages as power consumption begins to rise.

The company said a three-tier buffer across the supply chain - pithead stock, coal inventory at thermal power plants and ready-to-extract in-situ reserves - ensures comfortable availability ahead of the peak demand season.

CIL's producing subsidiaries were holding 115 million tonnes (MT) of coal at pitheads as of February 26, 2026, a figure expected to rise further by the close of the fiscal year.

Power plants typically require significantly higher quantities of coal during the summer months as electricity demand surges across the country. Rising temperatures lead to increased use of air conditioners, coolers, refrigerators and irrigation pumps, pushing peak power consumption to annual highs.

 

Coal-based thermal power dominates India's electricity generation, accounting for roughly 70 per cent of the country's total installed capacity and supplying nearly 75 per cent of the annual electricity output.

According to CIL, coal stocks at domestic coal-based thermal power plants stood at nearly 55 MT as of February 25, the highest level for this period. In addition, 5.5 MT of coal was available in transit at goods sheds, washeries and ports.

Together, the cumulative on-tap availability across these sources stands at around 175.5 MT, which the company said is sufficient to meet any spike in demand from the power sector and other industries during the summer months.

The in-situ coal exposure at mines accounting for 90 per cent of CIL's annual output was 60.2 MT as of mid-February. This coal has already been uncovered through overburden removal and can be extracted and supplied at short notice.

"The cumulative quantity of CIL's pithead stock, plant stock at domestic coal-based thermal power stations and exposed in-situ coal provides strong operational assurance," a senior company official said.

Higher domestic coal availability could also help curb imports, particularly at a time when international coal prices have firmed up in February 2026, the company added.

India relies heavily on coal-fired power plants because they provide a stable, base-load supply to meet continuous demand across industries, cities, and rural areas.

While renewable sources like solar and wind are growing rapidly, thermal generation remains the backbone of India's power system, ensuring grid stability and supporting the peak load requirements during high-demand periods such as summer.

To maintain grid stability and avoid outages, thermal power stations must ramp up generation, which in turn raises daily coal consumption. As a result, utilities and coal suppliers build up inventories in advance to ensure uninterrupted fuel supply during the high-demand season.