Coal Ministry says Punjab thermal plants held ample stock despite low utilisation
The ministry reports coal holdings above normative requirements at three state-run plants while their August utilisation averaged about 42%.
Punjab State Power Corporation's three thermal plants held coal equal to about 117% of their normative requirement on 4 September, according to the Ministry of Coal. Their combined capacity is 2,300 MW.
The ministry reports that the three plants averaged a plant load factor of about 42% in August, compared with roughly 93% at privately operated Nabha Power. It also says some coal offered by Coal India subsidiaries to independent producers in Punjab had not been booked or lifted.
Why it matters
The source of low thermal generation affects power reliability, fuel logistics and public accountability. Diagnosing the constraint correctly matters before policy or operating responsibility can be assigned.
SCULTRA point of view
A fair assessment needs plant-level generation, outages, coal quality, transport, payment status and dispatch instructions from both Union and Punjab authorities. Stock at a plant is one part of the operating picture, not the explanation by itself.
Limitations
This is a central ministry rebuttal to media reports. Punjab's response and independent plant-level data were not included, and coal stock alone does not establish why a unit operated at a particular load factor.
Source: Press Information Bureau / Ministry of Coal, 6 September 2026, 14:37 IST.