Several states in India are reeling from frequent power outages due to the shortage of coal in thermal power stations. The key states facing the issue of coal shortage are Delhi, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh among others. Coal shortage, face power cuts in these states.
The Delhi government on Thursday warned of a possible setback in providing an uninterrupted electricity supply to important establishments in the capital, including Metro trains and hospitals.
Power Minister Satyendar Jain held an emergency meeting to assess the situation and wrote to the Centre requesting it to ensure adequate coal availability to power plants that supply electricity to the national capital. “Due to disruption of power supply from Dadri-II and Unchahar power stations.
there may be a problem in 24-hours power supply to many essential institutions, including Delhi Metro and Delhi government hospitals,” a government statement read. Presently, 25-30 per cent of the electricity demand in Delhi is being met through these power stations, and they face a shortage of coal, Jain said.
He said the government was monitoring the situation closely and making every possible effort to ensure that people did not face power outages in some areas of the capital. Punjab power minister Harbhajan Singh said that driven by the rising temperature, the demand for electricity shot up by 40 per cent compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Not only Punjab, other states too are facing similar problems, he said, adding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was monitoring the situation. The opposition parties said load shedding was adversely affecting farming and industrial sectors, besides causing inconvenience to the domestic consumers.
The Orissa High Court was apprised that the ongoing coal crisis of aluminium major NALCO has been resolved following a discussion among the stakeholders concerned. The meeting of the three secretaries was held on Tuesday.
Amidst the shortage of coal in thermal power stations, the power crisis may deepen in the densely populated state of Uttar Pradesh as only one-fourth of the coal stock is left in the state, which is way below the required level.
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In the last 38 years, the demand for electricity was highest in the month of April this year. While there was a power shortage of 1.1 per cent in the month of October due to the coal crisis, it was 1.4 per cent in the first fortnight of April. In Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Jharkhand, Haryana, there are power cuts ranging from 3 to 8.7 per cent.
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