One of India’s largest thermal power producers, state-owned NTPC has floated tenders to procure over 14 million tonnes of imported coal despite elevated international prices as producers expect a potential shortage of domestic coal in the summer. Thermal power producers have consistently raised the issue of uncertainty of delivery of coal and are unlikely to be able to build up stocks to normative levels by March according to government officials.
Low coal stocks at thermal power plants had forced many states including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab to impose load shedding in October, as states rushed to power exchanges paying three-four times normal rates for power due to inadequate supply.
