India is in the grip of a sweltering summer, but the electricity grid has managed to meet daytime power demand, which is setting new records. Thanks to coal-based thermal generation and renewable energy sources, power outages have not occurred on a large scale.

On the afternoon of May 21, 2026, India saw an unprecedented power demand of over 270 GW, which was comfortably met by thermal, solar, and wind energy sources. On many days, the solar-hour demand has remained above 250 GW.

With intense heat wave conditions expected to persist until the first week of June, the coal stock position at some thermal plants across the country has raised concerns.

As of May 24, 22 plants have reported ‘critical’ coal stocks, meaning their inventories have dropped below 25% of their requirements.

Coal India (CIL), however, has allayed these fears, claiming that there is a 168-million-ton (MT) buffer stock to meet the summer demand. In a stock exchange filing, it said coal consumption by the country’s thermal power plants had increased sharply.

Coal stocks at domestic coal-based plants stood at 47.6 MT as of May 23, while the coal inventory at CIL’s own mine heads was at a comfortable level of 113.5 MT on May 24.

“This level is sufficient to meet 19 days of consumption. In addition, around 3 MT of coal is awaiting transit at points such as goods sheds, private washeries, and ports. Rakes on Run, that is, coal in transit at any point of time is around 4 MT, making a total of 168 MT of coal available in the system,” CIL said.

It said compression of coal stock levels at coal-fired plants during peak summer is a natural occurrence rather than a supply-side crisis. Along with coal adequacy, there is around 50 MT of in-situ mine coal on tap, ready for quicker extraction and supply if the demand necessitates.

The Central Electricity Authority has projected a peak power demand of 289 GW in 2026-27. India has met its power demand during solar hours, even though there have been evening shortages as solar generation drops to zero.