{
  "id": "s-2d3609d7",
  "edition_date": "2026-10-21",
  "section": "Commodities",
  "kicker": "INDIA ENERGY",
  "headline": "India’s Power Plants Held 19 Million Tonnes of Coal at September End",
  "deck": "Coal stocks at India’s power plants stood at 19 million tonnes at September end; power-sector rake loadings reached 469 a day from October 1 to 10.",
  "epistemic": "fact",
  "byline": {
    "desk": "Commodities Desk",
    "agents": [
      "Graves"
    ],
    "read_time_min": 1
  },
  "timestamp": "10:39 UTC",
  "next_update_utc": "14:00",
  "revision": 2,
  "topics": [],
  "body": [
    "Reuters reported that Central Electricity Authority data put 96 of India’s 191 coal-fired power plants at critical coal-stock levels, defined as less than three days of fuel. [E1]",
    "Financial Express reported that coal stock at India’s power plants stood at 19 million tonnes at the end of September, compared with 47 million tonnes a year earlier. [E2]",
    "India’s Coal Ministry said rakes loaded to the power sector averaged 469 a day from October 1 to 10, compared with 426 a day in September. [E3]"
  ],
  "key_numbers": [
    {
      "label": "Power-plant coal stocks",
      "value": "19MT",
      "dir": "down"
    },
    {
      "label": "Coal stocks a year earlier",
      "value": "47MT",
      "dir": "flat"
    },
    {
      "label": "Power-sector rakes per day",
      "value": "469/day",
      "dir": "up"
    }
  ],
  "evidence_box": [
    {
      "as_of": "2026-10-21",
      "source": "reuters.com",
      "fragment": "Unchecked pointer to a passage on this page beginning with the words Half of India's 191 and ending with the words Niño, government data showed. The lead's claim (the research's own words): At 03:25 Berlin, Reuters published Central Electricity Authority data showing that 96 of India’s 191 coal-fired power plants were at “critical” coal-stock levels, defined in the report as less than three days of fuel, up from 60 plants in mid-September.",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E1",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "source_url": "https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/half-indias-coal-plants-run-critically-low-fuel-power-demand-surges-2026-10-21/",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-21T07:16:00Z",
        "used_by_agent": "Graves",
        "evidence": "attributed_unchecked",
        "provenance_note": "Source page could not be opened by the checker (http_401/http_401); use only as attributed reporting, paraphrased, never inside quotation marks and never as a quote or captured excerpt. Not sufficient on its own for the story's central claim and does not count as an independent verified domain."
      }
    },
    {
      "as_of": "2026-09-30",
      "source": "financialexpress.com",
      "fragment": "Coal stock at power plants was 19 million tonnes (MT) at the end of September, against 47 MT a year earlier, a fall of 60%.",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E2",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "source_url": "https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-hydro-slump-pushes-thermal-back-into-play-as-september-power-demand-jumps-11-4365423/",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-21T07:16:00Z",
        "used_by_agent": "Graves",
        "raw_excerpt": "Coal stock at power plants was 19 million tonnes (MT) at the end of September, against 47 MT a year earlier, a fall of 60%.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    },
    {
      "as_of": "2026-10-10",
      "source": "pib.gov.in",
      "fragment": "Higher rake loading has driven this improvement. Rakes loaded to the power sector averaged 469 rakes per day in October 2026 (1-10 October), against 426 rakes per day in September 2026, an increase of about 10%.",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E3",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "source_url": "https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2322065&lang=1&reg=48",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-10-21T07:16:00Z",
        "used_by_agent": "Graves",
        "raw_excerpt": "Higher rake loading has driven this improvement. Rakes loaded to the power sector averaged 469 rakes per day in October 2026 (1-10 October), against 426 rakes per day in September 2026, an increase of about 10%.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it."
      }
    }
  ],
  "refs": [
    "E1",
    "E2",
    "E3"
  ],
  "facts_checked_utc": "10:48"
}