Quick, concrete steps needed to tackle power problem facing India: Kejriwal

The Delhi government on Friday flagged an "acute shortage" of coal, claiming that many power plants are left with only one day stock and warned of supply disruptions to the national capital, even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the situation was being handled somehow.

The chief minister called for quick and concrete steps to tackle the crisis facing the country.

Talking to reporters, Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain said there is an "acute shortage" of coal due to the unavailability of an adequate number of rakes and warned there may be "difficulty" in supply if power plants are shut.

The National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC), in reply to the Delhi government's claims of shortage of coal at its plants, said in a tweet that currently Unchahar and Dadri power stations, supplying power to the national capital, are running at full capacity and receiving "regular" coal supplies.

"All six Units of Dadri and 5 Units of Unchahar are running at full capacity and receiving regular coal supplies. Present stock is 1,40,000 MT and 95,000 MT respectively and import coal supplies are also in pipeline, NTPC tweeted.

However, Kejriwal claimed the power situation in the whole of India is very grave.

"There is a huge shortage of power in the country. So far we have managed it somehow in Delhi. The situation is very grave in the whole of India. Together we soon need to find its solution. Quick, concrete steps are required to tackle this problem," Kejriwal tweeted.

The NTPC, in another tweet, said, "Currently #Unchahar and #Dadri stations are declaring more than 100% rated capacity to the grid. All units of Unchahar and Dadri are running at full load except Unchahar Unit#1, which is under annual planned overhaul."

Amid a deepening coal shortage crisis, the Delhi government on Thursday had warned that there may be problems in providing an uninterrupted electricity supply to important establishments in the capital including Metro trains and hospitals.

Jain said the main reason for the "huge shortage" of coal was the lack of an adequate number of rakes. The number of railway rakes has been reduced from 450 to 405 instead of being increased, he said.

The minister also claimed that power plants, including Dadri and Uchahar, had only one-day coal stock that usually should be there for 21 days.

He also denied any pending payments of Delhi to the Centre regarding coal supply.

Jain had also held an emergency meeting to assess the situation and wrote to the Centre requesting it to ensure adequate coal availability to power plants supplying electricity to Delhi.

Sources said the Delhi government may scale up generation at its gas-based power plant with 1500 MW capacity. However, the cost of gas could be a restrictive factor in doing so, they said.

Delhi receives 1,751 MW of power per day from Dadri-II, Unchahar, Kahalgaon, Farakka, and Jhajjar plants. The capital gets the maximum supply of 728 MW from the Dadri-II power station, while it receives 100 MW from the Unchahar station, the Delhi government had said earlier.

The peak power demand of Delhi has been shooting up with maximum temperature reaching record levels. The city's power demand peaked at 6050 MW at 11.17 PM on Thursday. The peak demand of Delhi is expected around 8200 MW in the coming months, by discoms.