China is not the only Asian giant grappling with an energy crunch — India is also teetering on the edge of a power crisis. Most of India’s coal-fired power plants have critically low levels of coal inventory at a time when the economy is picking up and fueling electricity demand is increasing. Coal accounts for around 70% of India’s electricity generation. Government data showed that as of Oct. 6, 80% of India’s 135 coal-powered plants had less than 8 days of supplies left and more than half of those had stocks worth 2 days or fewer. By comparison, over the last 4 years, the average coal inventory that power plants had was around 18 days worth of supply. State-run Coal India (NSE: $COALINDIA), which accounts for over 80% of India’s coal output, said it would ramp up supplies to utilities last month to address the coal shortage in power plants. A combination of supply factors and falling coal imports led to the current crisis. Electricity prices are likely to rise as higher priced coals would have to be imported, potentially fueling inflationary pressure.