Rebuilding coal inventories ahead of next summer was the “main concern”, officials said amid a “neck-to-neck situation” as stocks at domestic coal-based power plants plunged 66% — from around 54.9 million tonnes at the beginning of April to 18.6 million tonnes by the end of September.With rainfall in parts of northern and eastern India, there has already been some moderation in electricity demand and officials maintained they expect the demand to further ease as the summer heat recedes and the country moves into the post-summer demand pattern.This will ease some pressure on coal-based power plants and allow them to rebuild inventory by March, officials told The Indian Express.“The concern is not for this year but for next year. This year things will be neck-to-neck as there is a lot of pressure on thermal power plants in the absence of hydro-power due to rainfall deficit. The main concern is rebuilding the stock by March before the onset of next summer,” a senior official involved in power system operations told The Indian Express.The depletion of coal inventories at domestic coal-based power plants this year is the highest in the past three years.Fuel stocks at domestic coal-based power plants have declined by around 66% this year, compared with a decline of around 23% during the same period last year, when stocks fell from 55.2 million tonnes at the beginning of April to 42.6 million tonnes by the end of September.The same was 31.8% in 2024 and 36.8% in 2023 for the same period.Push for increasing stockStory continues below this adOfficials expect the situation to improve with better availability of railway rakes for transporting coal to power plants, along with an increase in coal production. Coal India Limited, the country’s largest coal miner that accounts for about 83% of the coal supplied to the power sector in India, also reported a 9.18% increase in coal production during September compared to the same month last year.“Supplies to the power sector also registered strong growth of 10.63%, during the month rising to 48.90 million tonnes (MT) from 44.20 MT in previous fiscal,” the state owned miner informed exchanges on Thursday.Coal supplies to thermal power plants depend heavily on logistics, particularly the availability of railway rakes, as a large share of India’s operational coal-based generation capacity is located away from the coal mines.“October and November are typically crucial for rebuilding stocks as demand usually moderate during this period. While there has been some heating demand during the peak winter, usually this is the period when coal stock rises,” another senior official told The Indian Express.Blending of imported coal, BESS under discussionStory continues below this adThis year, higher-than-projected demand has already raised concerns over power availability, with the government moving to take additional measures to maximise generation from available capacity. Among these measures, the power ministry has directed around 112 captive coal-based power plants to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 to December 31.Apart from this, there has also been discussion on directing thermal power plants to blend imported coal with domestic supplies, officials aware of the matter told The Indian Express.However, no final decision has been taken on the issue so far.While the government has issued advisories on blending imported coal with domestic supplies from time to time in the past, such advisories have not been issued beyond October 15, 2024.Story continues below this adAt the same time, there is a push to add more battery energy storage systems (BESS) over the next six months, particularly at the inter-state transmission system (ISTS) level.The move is aimed at addressing the growing gap between the availability of solar power during the day and the higher demand for electricity after sunset, when generation from solar projects falls sharply.One of the senior officials quoted above said at least five to six major renewable energy companies are planning to add around 10 GW of battery energy storage capacity by March.“This will be very beneficial for the system, especially during the evening and night hours when there is greater stress on the grid,” the official added.Story continues below this adQueries sent to the Ministry of Power did not elicit any response till the time of filing this report.