India invokes the law on the maximum energy yield of coal-fired power stations

• India has passed a law that will require maximum output from power plants that run on imported coal.
• From March 16 and ending June 15, all power plants must run at maximum capacity and sell to buyers on exchanges.
• India expects record power consumption this summer, with peak demand in April of 229 gigawatts.

As India gears up for massive power consumption in the second quarter, the government will implement an emergency law that will demand maximum output from power plants running on imported coal. That reports Reutersciting the Indian Ministry of Energy.

The emergency law reflects a situation where power plants that run on more expensive imported coal are struggling to compete cost-effectively with plants that can run on cheaper domestic coal.

Beginning March 16 and ending June 15, all power plants will be required to run at maximum capacity and sell to buyers on exchanges, regardless of their coal resources or coal prices, Reuters quoted an internal ministry memo as saying.

India expects record power consumption this summer, with peak demand in April of 229 gigawatts.

India still relies on coal for about 70% of its electricity generation.

Power plants that import more expensive coal have been hit by even higher prices since the EU banned imports of Russian coal last August, sending coal prices soaring globally.

Indian government expects to use coal power plants 8% more coal in the next fiscal year between March 2023 and March 2024, as demand is expected to continue to rise thanks to growing economic activity and unpredictable weather.

Late last year, India’s coal minister said the country had no plans to remove coal from its energy mix any time soon, while coal minister Pralhad Joshi predicted that the fossil fuel would continue to play an important role in energy consumption until at least 2040. India.

Invoking the emergency law comes at a difficult time Adani groupthe huge Indian conglomerate that controls coal mines, ports and other industrial sectors in India, which has seen its stock plummet in the wake of a short-seller report alleging fraud and manipulation.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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