New Delhi: Allaying fears of shortage amid scorching heat and high power demand, Coal India said the country has a buffer stock of 168 million tonnes of dry fuel, enough to meet the requirements of domestic thermal power plants for 19 days.The company also said that depletion of coal stock levels at thermal plants during peak summer was a natural phenomenon and about 50 MT of in-situ mine coal was readily available for quick extraction and supply if the demand required.Coal-fired power stations are expected to maintain a “standard” stock of 26 days, which is calculated on the amount of electricity generated compared to the maximum possible output at 85% plant load factor or full capacity. As against the requirement of 75 MT coal to maintain this level, the total stock availability was 49.7 MT or 66% of the standard requirement.According to the daily coal stock report compiled by the Central Electricity Authority, 24 of the country’s 190 coal-based plants with a collective capacity of 223 GW had significant coal stocks as of May 26, meaning the availability was less than 25% of the standard requirement.India is currently in the grip of extreme heat, due to which the demand for electricity is increasing in most parts of the country. The maximum power demand reached 271 GW on May 21. Coal-based power plants provide about 68% of the country’s total electricity requirement during the day.However, Coal India Ltd, which supplies about 80% of the country’s coal requirement, said stocks at domestic coal-fired plants stood at 47.6 MT on May 23, while inventories at its own mine heads stood at a “comfortable level” of 113.5 MT on May 24, 10% higher than the same period in 2025.“This level is sufficient to meet 19 days’ consumption. Besides, about 3 MT of coal is awaiting movement at goods sheds, private washeries and transit points like ports,” CIL said in a statement.The public sector company said about 4 MT of coal remains in transit at any point of time, taking the total coal available in the system to 168 MT. CIL said it had advised power plants with less coal availability to create stocks in advance for peak demand periods. “As such, CIL has sufficient quantities to meet the generation capacity of domestic coal-based plants,” it said.