As India heads into a “hotter-than-normal” summer, with forecasts pointing to an above-average number of heatwave days, the government plans to rely more on coal-based power to meet peak summer demand.On Monday, the government informed Parliament that the country’s power system remains “adequately positioned” to meet peak summer demand, despite gas supply constraints triggered by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.While gas-based power accounts for a relatively small share of the energy mix, it plays a crucial role during non-solar hours, with nearly 10 GW of capacity typically relied upon during high demand summer months.The government said its plans to use “alternative sources” like coal coal-based generation, renewables energy and energy storage system compensating for reduced gas-based generation.However, this shift may come with trade-offs that extend beyond immediate supply concerns, experts said. A greater reliance on coal could lead to curtailment of renewable energy, particularly solar, due to the operational inflexibility of coal plants.Also in Explained | West Asia conflict: Why Centre ordered coal plants to full capacity during summerGas-based power plants, meanwhile, are more flexible and can ramp generation up or down to accommodate renewable power while keeping the grid stable during evening peak hours when solar generation is unavailable.Greater Coal relianceCoal-based power plants already dominate India’s electricity generation mix, contributing over 70%. Gas contributes around 1-2% in the country’s overall power generation.Story continues below this adPower generated from gas-based units is typically more expensive than coal and renewable energy. However, due to their flexibility, they are generally used during high-demand periods, such as peak summer months when cooling demand surges, to meet evening peak demand.In the past, the government has invoked emergency measures to ensure utilities operate both gas and coal plants at full capacity when soaring temperatures push electricity consumption to record levels.However, disruption of gas supply due to the conflict in West Asia has cast a shadow over availability of gas for the country’s gas-based power plants as the government decided to prioritise certain sectors during the shortage.To meet this gap and summer demand, the government told the parliament that a series of measures are being rolled out to ensure adequate power supply.Story continues below this adDays ago, the government directed Tata Power to operate its 4 GW imported coal-based plant in Gujarat at full capacity, after it had remained idle for six months. The plant is set to resume operations from April 1.The government also said it is closely monitoring the progress of thermal and hydro projects slated for commissioning by June 2026. Meanwhile, thermal power plants have been asked to defer their planned maintenance to make available adequate generation capacity.“From this, about 10,000 MW will be made available during April to June, 2026,” the government told the parliament.Further, all the power generating companies, including imported coal-based power plants and Central generating stations, have been advised to generate and maintain full availability on a daily basis excluding the period of planned maintenance or forced outage, the government said.Story continues below this adOn clean power sources, the government maintained hydro based generation is being scheduled in a manner so as to conserve water for meeting demand during peak periods.“Accelerated clearances are being provided for commissioning of renewable energy plants, particularly wind power plants and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS),” it added.RE curtailmentA greater reliance on its coal-based power plants could potentially lead to curtailment of renewable energy, particularly solar, due to the operational inflexibility of coal plants, experts maintained.Duttatreya Das, an analyst with global energy think tank Ember, told The Indian Express that India could see record levels of solar power curtailment this summer as coal-based plants are prioritised to ensure grid stability.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Coal-fired plants’ inflexibility jeopardises India’s clean energy push: Can an incentive scheme work?Between May and November last year, India’s grid operator curtailed as much as 23 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy to maintain grid safety and stability. The curtailment was largely necessitated because a significant portion of India’s coal-based thermal fleet failed to operate below 55% Minimum Technical Load (MTL), according to a report by a committee of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).Minimum Technical Load (MTL) is the lowest stable generation level at which a thermal unit can safely operate without shutting down. With renewable energy (RE) generation surging during daytime hours, a lower MTL is increasingly seen as essential to allow coal plants to back down further and accommodate green power.“Earlier, solar met daytime demand while expensive coal plants remained largely idle during summer, with gas stepping in to meet the evening peak. Now, with greater reliance on coal, these costly plants will remain operational even during the day, forcing cheaper renewable energy to be curtailed,” Das added.Sharath Rao, Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), said renewable-energy curtailment in India is driven largely by grid-security considerations — especially periods of high frequency, state underdrawal, and transmission congestion. “This has been observed particularly in high-renewable states such as Rajasthan and Gujarat, and at times in other states as well,” Rao said.Story continues below this ad“Where inter-state transmission lines are congested, and coal-based plants cannot back down enough because of flexibility limits, solar curtailment can become difficult to avoid. Lower demand in a state can also aggravate the problem,” he added.Rohit Vijay, Associate Fellow at CSEP, added that distribution utilities continue to rely on coal-based generation for reliability, particularly to meet the evening peak after solar generation declines.“Flexibility in coal-based plants comes at a cost. Operating them at the current technical minimum of around 55% requires both system-level and plant-level adjustments, and there is a broader push to reduce this further over time, potentially to 40%. The regulatory framework also provides for compensation for the additional costs associated with flexible operation,” Vijay said.He further noted that, in some situations, continuing to run coal plants at technical minimum while curtailing a part of the renewable output may appear operationally easier for utilities, particularly when ramping constraints and time-block matching of evening demand are taken into account. “The larger issue is that curtailment is often not just about renewable energy availability; it is also about how much flexibility the rest of the system can provide at that moment, whether through storage, demand flexibility, or other balancing resources,” he added.