The challenge, though, is more acute this year. Disruptions in global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies amid the ongoing West Asia conflict have raised concerns over fuel availability for gas-based power plants.In previous years too, the government has invoked emergency provisions to mandate both gas-based and imported coal-based plants to operate at full capacity to meet rising power demand. But with gas supply now uncertain, the system faces the risk of an impending shortfall from a critical balancing source.While gas accounts for only a small share in India’s overall generation mix, it plays a crucial rebalaning role during evening peak hours, when solar output drops. Typically, around 8 GW of gas-fired capacity is relied upon during peak summer — making any disruption a significant gap that needs to be filled.Reliance on imported coalTo address this gap, the government has turned to imported coal-based capacity — a segment that is otherwise expensive and often underutilised. India has around 18 GW of installed capacity designed to run on imported coal, largely concentrated in coastal regions. However, generation from these plants remains significantly more expensive than domestic coal-based power.Also Read | Difference between LPG and LNG, and why West Asia war affected LPG supply moreIn a significant move, the Ministry of Power this week issued a directive to Tata Power to operate its Mundra plant in Gujarat at full capacity between April 1 and June 30. The direction has been issued under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, which allows the government to mandate power generation in extraordinary circumstances.Under this emergency mechanism, a government-appointed committee determines the tariff at which electricity from these plants is procured, factoring in the elevated cost of imported coal. The plant, with a capacity of about 4 GW, had remained largely idle for nearly six months due to high fuel costs and the absence of a viable power purchase arrangement.Story continues below this adThe directive also said that similar steps could be initiated for other plants if required.The invocation of the emergency provisions is not unprecedented. The government has invoked it in previous years during peak summer months to ensure adequate power supply. Typically, between April and June, authorities push power producers to ramp up output, including from high-cost sources such as gas-fired plants and imported coal-based units, while subsidising tariffs to shield consumers from price spikes.After issuance of Section-11 directions, a Committee, under Chairman Central Electricity Authority (CEA), is constituted for determination of Tariff. This Committee takes into account all the input costs while determining the tariff of ICB or Gas Based Plants.BESS as alternativeThe latest direction comes days after the Gujarat state government gave approval of a revised power purchase arrangement with the plant, clearing the way for the resumption of long-term supply from the plant.Story continues below this adRailways’ stricter cancellation rules explained | Why you must cancel earlier for better refundsIn a media interaction last week at Bharat Electricity Summit, Pankaj Aggarwal, secretary at Ministry of Power, said that operationalisation of Tata power’s imported coal plant in Mundra would provide the system with 4 GW of power which is currently unavailable.“We don’t use a lot of gas to meet our demand. About 2.5 GW we already have which is off grid. So that is consistently operating. Another about 8 GW we use during the high demand period particularly heat waves,” Aggarwal had said.“What we have done right now is we are going to start an imported coal based plant, Tata power plant in Mundra, that is going to be started anytime now. That will give us 4GW,” he said.He also said that some wind capacity, too, is about to be commissioned which can help in non-solar hours.Story continues below this ad“For evening time, we are facilitating commissioning of battery energy projects also. About 2.5 GWh is already under commissioning,” he added.However, he maintained that emergency provisions are not required to be extended to all imported coal based plants as entire capacity other than TATA Power’s plant is already operational.As per the data obtained from CEA till March 22, India’s 18 GW capacity imported coal-based plants require around 192 thousand tonne (TT) per day and have stocks worth 4191 TT. Out of these 17 ICB plants, at least seven have been marked as ‘having critical stock’.