Lack of coordination among ministries responsible for coal shortage, says AIPEF

• The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) monitors 173 thermal plants across the country, and 106 thermal plants have coal stock at critical levels 
• Dubey said that about 72,000 MW capacity thermal power plants were closed during the crisis mostly due to low coal stock 

New Delhi: The power outages across the country due to coal shortage are due to the lack of coordination amongst the coal ministry, railway ministry and power ministry, said Shailendra Dubey, the Chairman of All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) on Friday. "Every ministry claims that they are not responsible for the present mess in the power sector," said Dubey in a statement. 

Referring to Power Minister RK Singh's statement where he held states responsible for the coal shortage being faced by thermal power plants, the AIPEF Chairman said that the government has now diverted the issue and linked it to states' inability to make timely payments to coal companies. 

Coal shortage in 106 thermal power plants 

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) monitors 173 thermal plants across the country, and 106 thermal plants have coal stock at critical levels as per the latest daily coal report of April 27, said the AIPEF. 

In the case of 150 thermal plants using domestic coal, the number of thermal plants with critical coal stock has increased from 81 to 86 in one week. In the private sector, the coal plant with critical coal stock has also increased from 28 to 32, it said. 

At least 12 out of 15 thermal plants using imported coal are in the critical category as the cost of imported coal has risen abnormally. They are not willing to procure imported coal at escalated rates. Among such plants, 14 are in the private sector, the power engineers' body said. In addition to this, eight thermal plants owned by the private parties are not operating at all, it said. 

72,000 MW capacity power plants shut down due to dearth of coal 

Dubey said that about 72,000 MW capacity thermal power plants are closed during the crisis mostly due to low coal stock. And 20,000 MW of gas-based plants are totally closed as well, he added. 

Against the requirement of about 22 Million Tonnes (MT) of domestic coal for thermal power plants, only 16.4 MT of coal is available every day. Inventory of coal is depleting everyday and has reached a critical position. 

In the northern region, 12 state sector thermal plants out of 16 have coal stock at critical levels. In Rajasthan, six out of seven, and in Uttar Pardesh, three out of four state sector thermal power plants have critical coal stock. 

As per NRLDC (Northern Region Load Dispatch Centre) data, in the northern region, there is a total shortage of about 1,436 lakh units. 

Rajasthan has a maximum shortage of 435 lakh units, followed by Haryana at 337 lakh units, Punjab at 306 lakh units and Uttar Pradesh at 295 lakh units, said the AIPEF. 

In Maharashtra, six out of seven thermal power plants in the state sector, and in Madhya Pradesh, three out of four have critical coal stock. 

In Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, all state sector thermal power plants are having critical coal stock. More than a dozen states are imposing power cuts of various duration from two to 12 hours, said the AIPEF.

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