India has asked its federal power regulator (CERC) to allow power generators to import up to 30% of the country’s coal requirement (about 114 Mt) until March of 2023 without having to seek the consent of buyer states.
In April 2022, India had asked its utilities to import up to 10% of its requirement (about 38 Mt) to blend with local coal as demand was outstripping supply. This figure will be ramped up to 30% to reduce the impact of the current domestic coal shortage, which has caused the country's worst power cuts in more than six years. As of 17 May 2022, Indian stocks of coal were at 20 Mt, adequate for only 8 days at current consumption levels.
Coal is a major energy source as it dominates India's electricity mix, reaching 73% of the country's 1,600 TWh of power generation in 2020. India, despite being the world's second largest coal producer, imported 211 Mt of coal in 2020 (about 22% of the country's consumption of coal for that year).