New Delhi: NTPC, India’s largest power generator, plans to buy 10-15 million tonnes (MT) of coal from private commercial mines in the current fiscal to meet part of its dry fuel requirement for FY27, as coal stocks at many thermal plants turn tight.
Sources said the company has spoken to commercial miners, including NLC, and expects supplies mainly from mines in Odisha and West Bengal. NTPC’s plants are currently running at a plant load factor (PLF) of 75-76%.
For FY27, NTPC expects a coal requirement of around 300 MT, up 11% from FY26. In FY26, Coal India and SCCL together supplied 215.9 MT, while 6.4 MT came from commercial mines and 47.7 MT from captive sources. In FY25, total demand was 280 MT 226.7 MT from CIL-SCCL, 11.6 MT from commercial mines and 44.9 MT from captive sources.
With over 90 GW installed capacity, NTPC is among the biggest buyers from Coal India under long-term fuel supply agreements. In July-September, its power generation rose 13% year-on-year to 117.9 billion units (BUs) from 104.4 BUs a year earlier.
As of October 5, 90 of 191 thermal plants (about 225 GW capacity) were in the critical category, with total coal stock at 20.58 MT against a normative requirement of 61.17 MT. A plant is termed critical if its coal stock is less than 25% of the usual quantity. The daily stock requirement is worked out using 85% of the plant’s load factor or capacity utilisation
