Central Electricity Authority (CEA) flags critical coal stock at 45 power plants in India

Exam-focused facts from the 29 August 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data as of August 25 showed 45 coal power plants with critically low coal inventories.
The critical category includes plants with coal stocks below 25% of required inventory or less than three days of generation stock.
The number of critically placed plants rose from 31 at the end of July to 45 by August 25.
Of the 45 affected plants, 40 are domestic coal-fired plants.
Total coal stocks at power plants stood at 30.95 million tons, equal to around 10 days of operational requirement against 12 days in July.
Heavy rainfall in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh hit mining and slowed coal transportation to power plants.