Centre Orders Captive Coal Plants to Maximise Output from 1 October
India's Ministry of Power directed more than 100 captive coal-fired power plants to maximise generation from 1 October to 31 December 2026, in a directive issued on 25 September 2026 to secure supply through the post-monsoon demand period. Captive plants are units owned by industrial users - steel, aluminium, cement and fertiliser producers - primarily for their own consumption, so pushing them to run harder frees grid coal and eases pressure on merchant power prices. The order sits alongside the government's parallel bet on low-carbon fuels, including the Rs 2,300 crore port-based e-methanol plant at Kandla.
Coal India Limited, a Maharatna PSU set up in 1975, is headquartered in Kolkata | Coal accounts for the largest share of India's electricity generation | NTPC Limited, India's largest power producer, was incorporated in 1975