No coal supply shortage in Maharashtra: Centre
Premium- Thermal power plants of Maharashtra were supplied with 70.77 million tonne (MT) of coal during the financial year 2021-22, said the union ministry of coal
NEW DELHI : Days after Maharashtra blamed poor coal supplies from the Centre for its power shortage, the union coal ministry said the state is currently receiving more coal than in March and has the required coal stock.
Thermal power plants in Maharashtra were supplied with 70.77 million tonnes of coal during the FY22, the ministry said, adding that the coal supply to these thermal plants is increasing in tandem with the rise in demand.
According to the ministry, coal supply to power plants in Maharashtra has been increased to 276,000 tonnes per day this month till 11 April from 214,000 tonnes per day in March.
In the statement released on Sunday, the ministry said: “The ministry of coal has clarified that the government of Maharashtra is receiving more coal at present than in March this year. The state is meeting their coal requirement."
Further, it said that Maharashtra State Power Generation Co. (Mahagenco) was given 37.13 million tonnes of coal in FY22. The daily coal supply to Mahagenco on 22 March was 96,000 tonnes per day, which increased to 132,000 tonnes per day in April.
Highlighting the large dues of state-run Mahagenco, the coal ministry said: “It is equally pertinent that the coal requirement of Maharashtra is being met despite Mahagenco having outstanding dues of nearly ₹2,390 crore."
On Friday, Maharashtra’s energy minister Nitin Raut said the state is facing power outages due to an increase in demand for electricity following the relaxation of covid-19 restrictions and a shortage in coal supply. He blamed the Centre for poor coal supplies and claimed that some plants have just six days of coal stocks left.
As of 13 April, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), average coal stocks at power plants across India were at 35% of the requirement. The overall stock in 173 plants under the CEA was at 23.17 million tonnes, sharply lower than the normative stock of 66.72 million tonnes required to be maintained by thermal power plants.
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