A major power crisis looming India

• Follow

India, particularly some regions like Delhi and Punjab will reportedly witness a power crisis due to several reasons including heavy rains disrupting coal transportation. The imported coal-fired power plants generating less than half their capacity due to record high tariffs. Rains disrupted coal transport from mines to power plants in various regions, including Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu, in a year when the country produced record amounts of coal.

While power producers and distributors have warned of blackouts as generation units run on coal for as little as two days, the Coal Ministry has stated that the country has sufficient coal supplies and that low inventory does not mean that production would cease because the stock is constantly replenished. Another element contributing to the current problem is power plants that use imported coal to create electricity, which has either reduced or stopped production due to a spike in international energy prices making it harder for them to satisfy their commitments to states at a certain rate.

Tata Power, which had inked contracts to sell 1,850 megawatts of electricity to Gujarat, 475 megawatts to Punjab, 380 megawatts to Rajasthan, 760 megawatts to Maharashtra, and 380 megawatts to Haryana from its imported coal-based power plant in Gujarat, has halted production. Mundra, Adani Power’s unit, is also experiencing difficulties.

After stock levels fell too low, power facilities across the country curtailed generation.

According to data from the grid operator, over half of the country’s 135 coal-fired power plants, which generate over 70% of the country’s electricity, have fuel stocks of fewer than two days, despite the need of keeping 15 to 30 days of stocks.

The Coal Ministry, on the other hand, stated that the supplies reported by power plants are rolling stock, meaning that they are refilled on a daily basis.

A top ministry official stated, “There are around 40 million tonnes of coal inventories at mines and another 7.5 million tonnes at power plants. Excessive rains have caused mines to flood, making evacuation from miners to power plants a problem. However, the issue is currently being resolved, and power plant supplies are increasing.”