India Puts Off Coal Power Plant Maintenance Citing Gas Crunch

India has deferred planned maintenance at several coal-fired power plants to make sure high electricity demand during the summer months is met, even as the Middle East war has squeezed access to liquefied natural gas.

The imported fuel has become more expensive since flows from the region have been halted, curbing the use of LNG-fired capacity which supports coal-generated power, Piyush Singh, additional secretary in the power ministry, said at a briefing in New Delhi on Friday.