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India's coal mines and generators easily fulfill record power need: Kemp

India's coal production and generation shattered records in March as miners and power producers made a Herculean effort to avoid a repetition of the fuel scarcities and blackouts that struck the nation 2 years back.

Domestic coal production skyrocketed to an extraordinary 117 million tonnes in March 2024 up from 108 million in March 2023 and 96 million in March 2022, according to information from the Ministry of Coal.

Mining companies sent out nearly 74 million tonnes to generators, up from 68 million in the very same month last year and 65 million two years back. ( Month-to-month data at a glimpse, Ministry of Coal, April 2024)

The mines despatched approximately 298 coal trains to generators every day, up from 271 in 2023 and 269 in 2022, as the rail network was advised to prioritise fuel motions.

As a result, coal-fired generators had sufficient fuel to increase their output to a record 113 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) up from 103 billion kWh in the exact same month in 2015 and two years earlier.

Coal represented almost 81% of generation from all sources last month from 79% in March 2022, when fuel lacks left lots of power plants idle and resulted in blackouts.

Chartbook: India electrical energy generation

Coal-burning plants helped the transmission system serve a. record load of 139 billion kWh in March 2024, up from less than. 128 billion kWh in 2023 and 130 billion kWh in 2022.

Coal supplied nearly all the boost in load as record. amounts of solar were partially offset by lower hydro as a. outcome of low tank levels.

The transmission system was able to serve peak load of 222. million kilowatts up from 199 million during the heatwave 2. years ago without becoming dangerously stretched.

Despite record coal generation, fuel materials stay. comfy as an outcome of unmatched production and. distribution.

Generators still had 48 million tonnes of coal in storage on. April 28 up from 36 million tonnes a year earlier and 22 million. in 2022.

Stocks sufficed to please the minimum requirement. for more than 16 days, up from 12 days a year ago and just 8. days at the end of April 2022.

With plentiful coal generation readily available, the transmission. network has actually been far more steady, with grid frequency remaining. close to its target of 50 cycles per second (Hertz).

Grid frequency shows the balance in between generation and. load; continual periods of under-frequency are a sign the. network can not contact sufficient generation to please need.

However frequency fell below the minimum appropriate level of. 49.9 Hertz, simply 6% of the time in March 2024 compared to 9%. in March in 2015 and nearly 15% in March 2022.

MILD WEATHER CONDITION

India has likewise been lucky with relatively mild temperature levels. this March and April throughout the northern plains compared with. 2 years back, which restricted the development in air-conditioning and. refrigeration loads.

Temperature levels in the New Delhi suburb of Palam balanced. 23.3 ° C( 73.9 ° F) in March, which was 2.5 ° C less than throughout the. spring heatwave in March 2022.

The grid stayed steady in April with temperatures. close to average for much of the month on the populous. northern plains.

From the middle of May onwards sustainable generation will. boost substantially as the technique of the monsoon increases. wind and hydro generation.

The India Meteorological Department is forecasting this. years monsoon will bring a little above typical rainfall which. need to increase hydro output ( Long-range projection for the 2024. southwest monsoon season rains, IMD, April 15).

With coal inventories abundant, and more wind and hydro. available, overall generation should remain sufficient during the. summer season.

The next pinch point will can be found in late September and early. October when the southwest monsoon retreats and the electrical power. system ends up being more reliant on coal again.

Associated columns:

- India amasses record seasonal coal stocks as mine output. surges (February 28, 2024)

- India's coal sector sees substantial leaps in output and need. ( February 28, 2024)

- India rebuilds coal stocks to ensure electrical dependability. ( January 31, 2024)

- India turns to coal as hydro generation falls (November. 30, 2023)

John Kemp is a market expert. The views revealed. are his own. Follow his commentary on X https://twitter.com/JKempEnergy.