India’s power sector thermal coal imports drop to 4 years low of 45 mil mt in FY 26

India's thermal coal imports by power plants dropped to their lowest level in four financial years in FY 2025-26 (April-March), to 45.38 million metric tons, down 27.5% year over year, the latest data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) showed April 28.

This is the second consecutive drop in annual coal imports, as per data from the CEA. March coal imports at 2.97 million mt were also the lowest in five months, the data showed.

The data also showed that 12 power plants that use imported coal for blending purposes had no coal imports in FY 2026. In March, however, a total of 23 power plants, including two that solely run on imported coal, had no imports, the highest number of power plants to run without imported coal in the final quarter of FY 2026.

Imports by power plants designed to run solely on imported coal were at 38.62 million mt in the year, down 20% year over year, according to CEA data.

This is also the first time that coal imports by coal-fired power plants running on imported coal fell amid high operational costs, supply tightness, and geopolitical conflicts, according to CEA data. These power plants imported 2.82 million mt of coal in March, down 36% from the same period a year ago.

The data further showed that imports by power plants that use coal for blending purposes were at 6.76 million mt in FY 2025, down 52% year over year. During March, these power plants imported 152,900 mt of coal for blending, down 78% from the same period a year ago.

Indian power plants import coal ranging from low-calorific-value 3,400 kcal/kg GAR grade to mid-CV 5,000 kcal/kg GAR grade for blending with domestic stocks, according to several market sources.

The price of India-delivered 4,200 kcal/kg GAR coal at the west coast averaged $57.56/mt in FY 2026, down from $62.75/mt in the same period the previous year amid softening global coal prices, data from Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, showed.

Platts last assessed the grade at $76.40/mt CFR India on April 28.

India's total coal-based power generation in FY 2026 was 1,280.5 billion units, down from 1,331.8 billion units in FY 2025. Coal's percentage share in power generation was 69.72% in the previous fiscal, down from 73% in FY 2025, according to data by CEA and National Power Portal (NPP).

India recorded a cumulative production of 1.040 billion mt for FY 2025-26, marginally below 1.047 billion mt in the previous financial year, Platts reported April 15. The country's coal dispatch to the power sector stood at 77.47 million mt, up 5.41% from the previous year period.

Indian buyers continued to show tepid demand for seaborne coal amid healthy availability of domestic coal stocks and rising supply of commercial coal mines. Only pockets of demand for mid-CV coal were heard by coastal power plants and stock and sale traders amid rising power demand, according to trade sources.

Indian coal imports by the industrial sector held strong in March as Indian cement makers accelerated their pivot from petcoke to thermal coal after conflict in the Middle East sent petcoke prices soaring, sharpening a transition that had already been gaining traction in the second half of the financial year, Platts earlier reported.

Thermal coal imports reached an 11-month high of 16.6 million metric tons in March, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.