May 21, 2019 - Thermal coal stockpiles at Indian power plants began to decline over the last week, although they remained markedly higher than the year-ago period, according to data released Monday by the Central Electricity Authority.

Stocks were measured at 30.979 million mt on Sunday, down 1.3% on the week and 2.7% on the month, but up 105% from the year-ago period, the data showed.

The slight declines were largely expected as stockpiles historically peak around late March-April, when utilities build stocks in advance of the wet season.

The large increase on a year-ago basis could partially be explained by increased imports of thermal coal -- stockpiles of which hit a two-year high last week of 1.343 million mt -- as well as significantly higher production and dispatch from state-owned producer Coal India.

The number of plants with critical or super-critical stock levels was just one, down significantly from 23 a year earlier, and coal stocks across the country were enough for 17 days generation, up from just nine a year earlier.