India orders captive coal plants to maximise power output on surging demand

India has ordered more than 100 captive coal-fired power plants to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 through year-end to meet what it expects will be a rise in electricity demand.

* The federal power ministry's order, invoked under emergency provisions of the Electricity Act, applies to plants with installed capacity of at least 50 megawatts

* The aim is to meet an "expected rise in electricity demand in the coming months," showed the order dated September 25 and seen by Reuters

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* Nearly 40% of coal-fired plants are operating with critically low fuel stock due to a surge in power demand as the El Niño climate phenomenon raises temperatures more than usual

* The plants primarily serve industrial facilities such as aluminium smelters, steel manufacturers, cement factories and oil refineries

* The power ministry has directed generators to sell surplus electricity through power exchanges

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* The order covers 112 plants belonging to companies including Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement , Reliance Industries, Indian Oil, Bharat Aluminium, Hindustan Zinc and Nayara Energy

* The ministry has ordered plants to report weekly to the Central Electricity Authority detailing generation, captive consumption, power sales, available capacity and coal stocks

* Separately, the ministry has extended an earlier emergency order requiring Tata Power's imported coal-fired plant in Mundra, Gujarat, to operate at full capacity until December 31, citing the demand situation

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* Section 11 of the Electricity Act allows the government, under extraordinary circumstances, to direct generators to operate power stations in accordance with its instructions