Can Indian power sector afford coal imports to mee

Power demand in the country touched a record of 203 Gw on Thursday on the back of an intense heatwave and the reopening of the economy. This comes at a time when the Centre is pushing for imported coal--after having shunned it for several years--in the wake of a shortage in the domestic market. But this has stretched the whole supply chain, which is having to deal with a price of Rs 10,000 per tonne of the fossil fuel. At one end of the chain, the state-owned power distribution companies (discoms) continue to be financially distressed, and not in favour of coal imports. At the other end, domestic coal availability and supply is under pressure, and in the middle of all this, Rail infrastructure is spread thin. Grand old mismatch problem Close to 81 per cent of I...