Coal Import for Power-Sector Blending Drops to 6.8 Million Tonnes
Coal Import for blending by domestic coal-based power plants declined from 23.9 million tonnes in FY24 to 6.8 million tonnes in FY26. Coal India also held 122.46 million tonnes of stock on 12 March 2026, supporting a larger domestic supply buffer. But the blending figure has a specific denominator. It does not cover every coal import, and imported-coal-based stations may continue using foreign fuel because of plant design and commercial requirements. Some domestic plants may also need imported blending coal for technical or operational reasons. Revised linkages and SHAKTI provisions seek to increase access to Domestic Coal, but the published data do not identify how much of the 17.1-million-tonne decline resulted from additional domestic dispatch versus inventory use, changing generation or lower blending requirements. The reduction therefore demonstrates lower import exposure in one important category, not complete substitution of imported coal across the power sector.
