A day after the coal and power ministers reassured the public about blackouts due to a shortage of coal reserves, power secretary Alok Kumar said the supply situation was under control. In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, Kumar said there are some power shortages in some areas of the country, but the situation has been controlled.
According to him, certain states have large outstanding coal companies, while others started with small coal stocks. ‘Rajasthan had not paid their captive coal mine developer. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and UP need to clear dues to coal companies to sustain supplies. There is no problem of payments from Gujarat and Haryana’, he said.
Kumar said the coal secretary assured him that supplies would be ramped up gradually so that NTPC plants have adequate coal supplies. ‘The average power exchange quotes Rs 12-13/unit. As more power is supplied, prices will fall further. The coal production will definitely increase,’ he said. The shortages in India – the world’s second-largest coal consumer after China – follow widespread outages in neighboring China, which has closed factories and schools to manage the crisis.
Data from the Central grid operator showed that over half of India’s 135 coal-fired power plants, which generate around 70% of the country’s electricity, have fuel stocks of less than three days. The global energy supply is in jeopardy due to surges in prices and tight supply chains due to the recovery of consumption following the pandemic. India’s power deficit in the first seven days of October was more than 21 times the deficit in the same period last year and more than four times that in 2019.
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Power Minister RK Singh warned GAIL and Tata Power against ‘irresponsible behavior’ that created ‘unnecessary panic’ among customers about power outages because of a shortage of coal, saying there were reserves for at least another 4-5 days.
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