CHENNAI: India is looking at maintaining strategic reserves of natural gas and imported coal to stave off supply shocks in the future, a senior power ministry official said on Thursday, as the energy-hungry country faces a severe coal shortage. suffering from shortage.
The increase in power demand, coupled with a fall in imports due to high global coal prices, has created supply disruptions and power cut running for 14 hours a day despite record supplies from state-run Coal IndiaThe world’s largest coal miner.
India’s electricity secretary, Alok Kumar, said countries increasingly meet their needs when there is a supply crunch, citing the example of Russia reducing supplies to European countries as they wanted more gas locally.
At the South Asia Power Summit organized by the Confederation, Kumar said, “So let us start thinking and discussing how to keep strategic reserves of gas and imported coal, so that the economies are able to deal with these supply shocks for about a month. be.” Indian Industry.
Most of India’s 135 coal-fired power plants have fuel reserves of less than three days. Coal accounts for over 70% of India’s electricity generation.
India, the world’s second-largest coal importer with the world’s fourth-largest reserves, must also compete for supplies with China, which is also under pressure to increase imports amid severe power shortages.
“If we don’t have a well thought out strategy, high prices will make energy security very challenging,” Kumar said.
It was not immediately clear whether the potential strategic reserves would be primarily for power plants or would also meet coal demand from consumers such as steel plants and aluminum smelters.
India imported an average of about 21 million tonnes of thermal coal every month before the coronavirus pandemic, of which the power sector contributed about 6 million tonnes directly.
The country imports coal mainly from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa. The Carmichael mine in Australia, owned by India’s Adani Enterprises, has said it is on track to export its first coal in 2021.
The increase in power demand, coupled with a fall in imports due to high global coal prices, has created supply disruptions and power cut running for 14 hours a day despite record supplies from state-run Coal IndiaThe world’s largest coal miner.
India’s electricity secretary, Alok Kumar, said countries increasingly meet their needs when there is a supply crunch, citing the example of Russia reducing supplies to European countries as they wanted more gas locally.
At the South Asia Power Summit organized by the Confederation, Kumar said, “So let us start thinking and discussing how to keep strategic reserves of gas and imported coal, so that the economies are able to deal with these supply shocks for about a month. be.” Indian Industry.
Most of India’s 135 coal-fired power plants have fuel reserves of less than three days. Coal accounts for over 70% of India’s electricity generation.
India, the world’s second-largest coal importer with the world’s fourth-largest reserves, must also compete for supplies with China, which is also under pressure to increase imports amid severe power shortages.
“If we don’t have a well thought out strategy, high prices will make energy security very challenging,” Kumar said.
It was not immediately clear whether the potential strategic reserves would be primarily for power plants or would also meet coal demand from consumers such as steel plants and aluminum smelters.
India imported an average of about 21 million tonnes of thermal coal every month before the coronavirus pandemic, of which the power sector contributed about 6 million tonnes directly.
The country imports coal mainly from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa. The Carmichael mine in Australia, owned by India’s Adani Enterprises, has said it is on track to export its first coal in 2021.
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