India's thermal power imports fall to a four-year low as the green energy sector rises

India's thermal coke imports dropped to a four-year low between January and May?due mainly to higher domestic production and increasing renewable energy generation, according commodities consultancy BigMint.

The consultancy reported that overall, thermal coal imports fell by 12% in the past year, to a total of?65 millions tons. India, which is the second largest importer of thermal coke in the world, has sought to reduce its dependence on imports. It aims to reduce the use of this coal for power production by at least 30 percent?this coming year. Coal India's subsidiaries were asked to increase production as the El Nino weather pattern caused temperatures to rise.

BigMint reported that the Middle East crisis and higher freight rates a result of the Middle East crisis also affected imports.

RISING RENEWABLE GENERAL

BigMint reported that between January and May, total electricity generation grew 5%, but renewable generation grew 22% faster.

India's peak electricity demand, which is a measure for the country's maximum requirement, exceeded 270 gigawatts, as a result of heatwaves, on May 21.

Grid-India, the federal grid regulator, reported that power demand in South Asia grew 11.2% in May to a record high of two years.

The regulator's data revealed that thermal power production rose 10% in comparison to a year ago, and was the highest since May 2024. This is because utilities increased their output to meet the demand for electricity around the clock. India's renewable energy generation rose 29.31% in the last year to 27.58 billion kilowatt hours, or 17.9% of India's total power, according an analysis of government data. (Reporting and editing by Nidhi verma and Harikrishnan Nair; Sethuraman NR)

(source: Reuters)