Till now we are somehow managing the situation in Delhi but the situation in the whole country is very serious, need to take quick & concrete steps to overcome the crisis – CM Arvind Kejriwal
Power Minister Satyendar Jain appeals to Centre to ensure continuous supply of coal at the earliest so that there is no restriction in the power supply to the people of the country
Peak demand of 6000 MW electricity in Delhi, only 1 day of coal left in many power plants – Satyendar Jain
Produced electricity cannot be stored, so in normal circumstances, the reserve of coal should be more than 21 days – Satyendar Jain
Earlier, there were 450 rakes in the trains carrying coal, which have been reduced to 405; need to immediately increase the number to deal with the crisis – Satyendar Jain
New Delhi
Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal has flagged an impending threat of a major power crisis in the country. He has expressed his deep concern about the continuous shortage of coal reserves in power plants across the country. The CM stated that till now Delhi Government is somehow managing the situation but the larger situation in the whole country is very serious. Need to take quick & concrete steps to overcome the crisis. At the same time, Power Minister Shri Satyendar Jain has appealed to the Centre to ensure continuous supply of coal at the earliest so that there is no restriction in the power supply to the people of the country. He stated — “Peak demand of 6000 MW electricity met in Delhi, only 1 day of coal left in many power plants. Produced electricity cannot be stored, so in normal circumstances, the reserve of coal should be more than 21 days. Earlier, there were 450 rakes in the trains carrying coal, which have been reduced to 405, need to immediately increase the number to deal with the crisis.”
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Power Minister Shri Satyendar Jain said, “there is a severe shortage of coal in the whole country. The biggest reasons behind this are the lack of railway rakes and the acute shortage of coal supply. Due to this acute shortage of coal, all the power plants across the country are facing problems regarding power generation.”
Giving information about the whole process, He added, “produced electricity cannot be stored, electricity is generated daily in the power plant. Therefore, for the backup of electricity, it is necessary to have a backup of the fuel that helps produce electricity. At present, this fuel is coal, whose supply has decreased across the country.”
Lack of coal in power plants
Shri Satyendar Jain said, “normally there is a backup of coal worth more than 21 days to generate electricity at the power plant. But today, only one day’s worth of coal is left in many plants in the country. The situation in Delhi is also serious. All the power plants that provide electricity to Delhi have only one day of coal left. At present, depending on the supply, we are left with only the next day’s coal. The power plants cannot work like this. Under any circumstance, there must be at least 7 days of coal storage so that the power plants can operate at their full capacity. At present, Delhi has a peak demand of 6000 MW. Its information can be seen on our online portal. More than 21 days of backup is the norm in all power plants, but in the last few days, it has been reduced to only 1-2 days.”
The central government should take appropriate steps soon regarding the serious problem of electricity: Satyendar Jain
Shri Satyendar Jain said, “it is the responsibility of the Central Government to supply coal. We appeal to the Central Government to ensure a continuous supply of coal across the country. Simultaneously, railway rakes should be increased. Whereas earlier there were 450 rakes in the train, now there are only 405. While their numbers should have increased, the exact opposite is happening. These power stations play an important role in avoiding blackouts in some parts of Delhi as well as for the continuous supply of electricity to Delhi Metro and hospitals. Till now the Delhi government is managing this situation. Seeing the seriousness of the situation in the whole country, the Central Government should take appropriate steps to solve the problem as soon as possible.”
Delhi Government is continuously monitoring the situation
The Delhi Government is monitoring the situation and making every effort to ensure that people do not face power outages in any area of the capital. Presently, 25% to 30% of the electricity demand in Delhi is being met through the power stations, which are facing a coal shortage. At present, there is an acute shortage of coal in various thermal stations supplying electricity to Delhi. Both the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)’s Dadri-II and Jhajjar (Aravalli) power plants were established primarily to meet the power requirements in Delhi. But there is very little coal left in these power plants. If steps are not taken by the Central Government in time, there may be a problem with the 24-hour power supply in Delhi Metro and hospitals.