Demand heat triggers outages: Low coal stocks disrupt supply
Power demand is expected to rise further as the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted normal to above normal maximum temperatures this summer.
Amid power outages in several states — including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh — caused by critically low coal stocks at majority of thermal power plants, electricity demand in the country is set to rise further. Total electricity crunch in India hit around 105 million units (MU) on Wednesday, with power supply shortage peaking at about 7,681 MW.
A spike in the international coal prices has led to a number of thermal power plants, which use imported coal, stopping supply, and thereby putting increasing pressure on domestic coal-fired plants. India has about 16.7 GW of imported coal-based thermal power generation capacity, of which around 6.7 GW is currently not operational, according to government data. The unavailability of sufficient railway rakes to transport domestic coal to thermal power plants has added to the issue, leading to 86 of 150 thermal plants, powered by domestic coal, having critically low levels of stock.
“Thermal power plants across the country are grappling with coal shortages, indicating a looming power crisis in the country,” the All India Power Engineers Federation said in a statement.
Amid power outages in several states — including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh — caused by critically low coal stocks at majority of thermal power plants, electricity demand in the country is set to rise further. Total electricity crunch in India hit around 105 million units (MU) on Wednesday, with power supply shortage peaking at about 7,681 MW.
A spike in the international coal prices has led to a number of thermal power plants, which use imported coal, stopping supply, and thereby putting increasing pressure on domestic coal-fired plants. India has about 16.7 GW of imported coal-based thermal power generation capacity, of which around 6.7 GW is currently not operational, according to government data. The unavailability of sufficient railway rakes to transport domestic coal to thermal power plants has added to the issue, leading to 86 of 150 thermal plants, powered by domestic coal, having critically low levels of stock.
“Thermal power plants across the country are grappling with coal shortages, indicating a looming power crisis in the country,” the All India Power Engineers Federation said in a statement.
