NTPC reported Q1 earnings on Friday, with steady performance supported by higher coal-based plant utilization, increased captive coal output and greater biomass co-firing at its thermal power stations.
Commercial generation stood at 93.64 billion units in Q1 2027, compared with 91.07 BU in the same period a year ago. Energy sent out rose to 86.95 BU from 84.59 BU over the year.
Coal-fired plants remained the backbone of NTPC's generation mix, with plant load factor improving to 76.71% in Q1 from 75.16% a year earlier.
Coal station availability also remained high, with plant availability factor at 93.98%, compared with 93.48% for the same period a year ago.
The state-run utility's coal plants recorded a higher utilization rate during the quarter, while other generation sources saw mixed performance.
Coal PLF rose by 1.55 percentage points over the year to 76.71%, while gas-based PLF declined to 5.29% from 11.08%. Hydro PLF dropped sharply to 30.92% from 59.50%, reflecting lower hydro availability in Q1.
NTPC said solar PLF rose to 31.06% in Q1 from 26.81% for the same period a year ago, amid continued improvement in renewable generation efficiency.
Meanwhile, NTPC said captive coal mines met 19.26% of total coal requirements during the quarter, supplying 11.42 million metric tons of coal compared with 10.43 mmt in the year-ago quarter.
Total domestic coal consumption increased to 47.88 mmt from 51.33 mmt a year ago.
Coal production and dispatch from group captive mines under commercial operation also improved.
Coal production rose to 12.45 mmt in Q1 2027 from 10.07 mmt for the corresponding period a year ago, while dispatch increased to 12.16 mmt from 10.72 mmt, a 13% increase over the year.
NTPC increased its use of biomass in thermal plants as part of efforts to reduce emissions from coal-fired generation.
The utility's group thermal stations co-fired 570,000 mt of biomass in Q1, compared with 370,000 mt the previous year.