India is facing the prospect of large-scale power cuts, as the country’s power plants are running dangerously low on coal, the fuel which accounts for 70% of the country’s electricity output.
According to the Central Electricity Authority data, 67% of the 135 thermal plants tracked had just four days of coal supplies or less. At the start of August, these plants had 13 days of supplies on average. What is worse is that sixteen of these plants have completely run out of supplies, and 75 have just three days’ supplies or less.
The demand for electricity is rising with economic activity resuming in the country. The power demand in August 2021 was 17% higher than the pre-Covid-19 level of August 2019, according to the government.
