Power Minister Dismisses Reports of Coal Shortage that May Lead to Power Outages in the Coming Days

Power Minister, RK Singh dismisses the coal shortage related reports…learn more…

Thursday, 7th October 2021

Brushing aside media reports about a potential coal shortage in the coming days in India, Power Minister RK Singh said a rise in the demand for power bodes well for the overall economy of the country as it suggests the country’s financial system is recovering.

Singh asserted that unlike China, India is not undergoing a resource shortage and is equipped to meet the surge in demand for power.

Singh said, “It is not a power crisis. We are meeting the entire demand of the country and the demand is increasing. Yesterday, the demand was about 15,000 megawatts more than the corresponding day in the previous year... that's good news.”

He added, “The coal supply [is] something which we have to monitor. It's an ongoing process because coal is patched from the mines every day. We are monitoring that on a day-to-day basis. We have a group under Secretary Power which has members from the Ministry of Coal as well as the railways et cetera. So, we are meeting whatever demand is there.”

Singh however also mentioned that there was a minor hindrance that was faced in some parts of the coal-bearing areas in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh et cetra as they had rains in these places which affects the coal extraction process. He however assured, “But we are handling it and we are okay.”

The minister went on to state, “We are in a position to meet whatever demand there is. The coal dispatches have also increased. Yesterday the dispatch was 268 rakes. Which is an increase of 16 rakes from the previous day. Now that the rains have abated, now the dispatches will increase more.” The Ministry on Monday has also set a target of one billion tonne coal production in the next three years.

Meanwhile, an Agenda Document of the year 2021-22 has been drawn by the Ministry of Coal which loosely fixes its primary focus on four broad heads- coal sector reforms, coal transition and sustainability, institution building and futuristic agenda.

India’s fundamental source for electricity generation is coal. The fossil fuel accounts for nearly 70 per cent of it and is mostly mined domestically.

Several coal-fired power stations across the country were left with just four days’ stock by the end of last month, the lowest in several years. Many are on high alert for a power shut down and the government is considering getting idled power stations up and functioning again.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source

 NDTV