India orders captive coal plants to maximise power output on surging demand

India has ordered more than 100 captive coal-fired power plants to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 through year-end to meet what it expects will be a rise in electricity demand.The power ministry has directed generators to sell surplus electricity through power exchanges. (Representative Image/Unsplash)* The federal power ministry's order, invoked under emergency provisions of the Electricity Act, applies to plants with installed capacity of at least 50 megawatts* The aim is to meet an "expected rise in electricity demand in the coming months," showed the order dated September 25 and seen by ReutersAlso Read | Coal shortage row: Centre hits back, cites ‘poor efficiency’ at Punjab power plants* Nearly 40% of coal-fired plants are operating with critically low fuel stock due to a surge in power demand as the El Niño climate phenomenon raises temperatures more than usual* The plants primarily serve industrial facilities such as aluminium smelters, steel manufacturers, cement factories and oil refineries* The power ministry has directed generators to sell surplus electricity through power exchangesAlso Read | Uttar Pradesh records highest power supply despite coal shortage* The order covers 112 plants belonging to companies including Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement , Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, Bharat Aluminium, Hindustan Zinc and Nayara Energy* The ministry has ordered plants to report weekly to the Central Electricity Authority detailing generation, captive consumption, power sales, available capacity and coal stocks* Separately, the ministry has extended an earlier emergency order requiring Tata Power's imported coal-fired plant in Mundra, Gujarat, to operate at full capacity until December 31, citing the demand situationAlso Read | Xi Jinping says China kept promise to stop funding overseas coal plants, but loopholes continue* Section 11 of the Electricity Act allows the government, under extraordinary circumstances, to direct generators to operate power stations in accordance with its instructions