Coal India is the anchor source for coal, accounting for 80% of supplies. The Dhanbad-Chandrapura railway line was shut on safety fears just when Coal India was in the middle of reducing its pithead stocks by pulling back production. Naturally, this unmet demand shifted to coal-fired plants, a fact supported by Central Electricity Authority data showing 17% growth in thermal generation in August. Just when stocks were pared to about 11 days or less, the sweaty season demand spiked in August and coal supplies got disrupted. Even as coal supplies are rising, the switching of load from other sources put power station back to square one.

Source: Times of India October 23, 2017 00:33 UTC