India to use emergency law to maximise coal power output -sources

India plans to use an emergency law next month to force power plants that run on imported coal to maximise output, two government sources told Reuters on Monday, in preparation for expected record consumption this summer.

Many Indian coal-fired plants, including those those owned by Adani Power ADANIPOWER and Tata Power TATAPOWER in India's western Gujarat state, have not operated at full capacity in the recent years because they have found it difficult to compete with power generated from cheap domestic coal.

Federal power ministry officials will work with those involved in debt restructuring of financially stressed power plants to make them functional, the sources said.

The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

India expects its power plants to burn about 8% more coal in the financial year ending March 2024, with increased economic activity and erratic weather to continue boost growth in demand for power.

India's industrial western states Maharashtra and Gujarat, which have registered a steep rise in power demand in recent months, demanded invocation of the law, the sources said. The law is being invoked for the second time in as many years.