Coal stocks at thermal units improve to 72%

COAL STOCKS AT the country's thermal power plants improved to 72% of the normative level as of December 30, compared to just 58% in the same period of last year, data from the Central Electricity Authority showed.

- ARUNIMA BHARADWAJ

The country's thermal plants had a coal stock of 44.98 million tonne as of December 30 against the normative level of 62.39 million tonne for this time of the year.

Moreover, of the 184 thermal plants with a total generation capacity of 211 gigawatt (GW), 27 reported to have a critical stock level, of which 15 were domestic coal-based plants. A plant is said to have a critical stock situation when the dry fuel is less than 25% of the normative level. During the same period of last year, stock levels at 30 plants out of 182 reported had a critical stock.