Power crisis looms as coal supply thins
Premium- In total, the overall stock in the 173 plants under the ambit of CEA stand at 23,174.43 thousand tonne, against the normative stock of 66,720.4 thousand tonne, showed the data.
NEW DELHI : Concerns over power crisis looms large with persistent coal shortage at power plants. According to data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), average coal stocks at power plants across India was at just 35% of the requirement.
The overall stock in 173 plants under the CEA is at 23.17 million tonnes, sharply lower than the normative stock of 66.72 million tonnes.
In fact, 99 of these plants have critical stocks, or less than 25% of the normative requirement , while 18 that are close to coal mines are maintaining 81% of normative stocks.
According to CEA data, 155 non-pithead plants, which are not near coal mines, have only 27% of normative stocks.
With temperatures soaring, states including Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Maharashtra are facing power outages.
Maharashtra’s power minister Nitin Raut said the state is facing load shedding due to an increase in demand for electricity following the relaxation of covid-19 restrictions and a shortage in coal supply. He also blamed the Centre for poor coal supplies, and claimed that some plants only have six days of coal stocks left.
On Wednesday, the power ministry allowed states to use the tolling facility for up to 25% of linkage coal to cater to the growing domestic power demand and coal shortage. It would enable states to optimally utilize coal linkage in plants closer to mines as it would be easier to transmit electricity than transporting coal to them from mines. The government has also asked gencos to import coal to blend to 10% of their requirements.