Gujarat secures more coal and power to meet demand

The pressure is being driven by a weak monsoon, higher temperatures and more irrigation demand, which has lifted agricultural consumption to as much as 12,000 megawatts. Industrial usage is also adding strain as factories increase production ahead of Diwali, making Gujarat more reliant on coal during the evening window when solar output fades and wind generation can swing sharply.

To bridge the gap, the state has secured 329 megawatts from NTPC’s Farakka plant for November, 551 megawatts from the central pool in Assam and extended 716 megawatts of power purchase agreements from Bade-1 and Dadri-1 thermal plants until March 2028. Officials are also pressing for another 500 megawatts from reserve allocations, underscoring how tight the supply balance has become.

The government is also turning to battery storage to absorb daytime solar power and release it after sunset. Gujarat currently has 192 megawatts of battery storage in operation and has finalized contracts for projects totaling 2,742 megawatts, a sign that storage is moving from a pilot solution to a central part of grid planning.

For investors, the story reinforces demand for coal logistics, thermal generation and grid infrastructure even as India pushes renewables. It also highlights the near-term weakness of clean power alone to cover peak load, which can support coal-linked names and storage developers while increasing scrutiny on utilities, transmission bottlenecks and fuel availability.

The next focus is whether the promised 13 to 14 coal rakes a day materialize and whether storage and imported power can hold Gujarat through the evening peak without resorting to curtailments.