Coal Supply to Punjab Power Plants Adequate, Says Centre

New Delhi – On Sunday the Ministry of Coal stepped in to clear the air around Punjab’s power‑generation woes. According to the ministry, the state’s thermal plants are sitting on a comfortable coal stockpile – roughly 117 % of what’s considered the ‘normative’ requirement as of 4 September.

That sounds like plenty, right? Yet the average Plant Load Factor (PLF) for the three PSPCL‑run stations – Guru Hargobind, Goindwal Sahib and Ropar – slipped to just about 42 % in August 2026. The ministry’s statement makes it clear: the low output can’t be blamed on a coal shortage.

In fact, the opposite picture is emerging from Punjab’s independent power producers. Nabha Power Limited, a private IPP, logged an impressive PLF of roughly 93 % during the same month, thanks to a steady flow of coal from Coal India Limited (CIL). That contrast, the ministry argues, proves coal availability isn’t the bottleneck.

Since the start of captive‑mine production, the Centre has been nudging coal toward IPPs. Coal from PSPCL’s own Pachhwara Central Coal Mine is now being channeled to private generators, provided the statutory payments to Jharkhand are settled. Up to half of the mine’s annual output can be diverted to non‑PSPCL plants such as Nabha Power (Rajpura) and Talwandi Sabo Power (Mansa), after meeting end‑use criteria.

That said, the statement admits the process isn’t as smooth as it could be. Coal India subsidiaries have offered sizeable volumes but the booking and lifting numbers lag behind. For instance, Coal India’s CCL promised 5 lakh tonnes to Nabha Power and Talwandi Sabo on 30 March 2026, yet only about 4.1 lakh tonnes were booked and roughly 3.1 lakh lifted so far. BCCL’s offer of 3.5 lakh tonnes saw just 1.3 lakh booked and 0.98 lakh lifted.

“Timely lifting of the coal by the IPPs, together with better generation performance at PSPCL’s own plants, are both crucial for optimising power output in Punjab,” the ministry said.

In short, the central government says the coal is there – it’s now a matter of getting it onto the trains, into the plants, and running those turbines efficiently.