Coal crisis: Delhi may see intermittent power shutdowns in coming days

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Due to the reduced power generation caused by the shortage of coal in the country, Delhi may go through intermittent rotational load shedding in the coming days, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) CEO Ganesh Srinivasan said on October 9. As of now, coal-based power stations that supplies electricity to discoms in Delhi have coal stocks to meet generation requirements for 1-2 days against 20 days.

However, it said that proactive steps by both Delhi as well as the central government for handling the grim situation are being considered to arrange or divert coal for power generation.

TPDDL has started sending SMS to customers and urged them to use electricity in a judicious manner. It supplies power to north and north western parts of Delhi.

“Due to limited coal availability in generation plants across north, power supply scenario between 2 pm to 6 pm is at critical level. Kindly use electricity judiciously. Be a responsible citizen. Inconvenience caused is regretted,” read an SMS received by a TPDDL consumer in Burari.

Low coal stocks

With the festive season right around the corner, the coal supply crisis seems to be worsening as 64 non-pithead power plants are left with less than four days of the dry fuel stocks, according to a report earlier this week.

As on October 3, the latest data also showed that coal stocks for power plants from Central Electricity Authority (CEA), had coal stocks for less than seven days.

It also showed that, 17 plants with a cumulative installed power generation capacity of 21,325 MW had zero stocks of coal, while 20 power plants of 22,550 MW capacity had one day of the dry fuel stocks.

The Reliance infrastructure led BSES discoms -BRPL and BYPL are the three companies in joint ventures between private companies and Delhi government, that supply power to most parts of the national capital.