Coal crisis for thermal power plants now could be good news for India later

The endemic supply shortage for thermal power plants offers the chance to transition to gas

The acute coal crisis for thermal power plants could be good news in the long run. Domestic coal production has more or less plateaued; instead of trying to fill the gap with imports, which are expensive, the government would do well to move ahead with transitioning to natural gas for power production.

Consultancy firm Deloitte has said it will be immensely difficult for Coal India (CIL), the state-owned monopoly producer, to reach an annual production level of one billion tonnes by 2024. The report was commissioned by former coal minister Piyush Goyal. The minister has moved on but any external