Electricity Crisis: After the supply of coal from Coal India was disrupted, the power generation from NTPC power plants in many states of the country was affected. In many states including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, people are facing power crisis.
New Delhi. The effect of interruption of coal supply from Coal India has started showing in the form of power crisis in many states of the country. The power crisis in Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh is continuously deepening.
Power generation has been adversely affected due to non-availability of adequate supply of coal in several plants of National Thermal Power Corporation. In Madhya Pradesh, there were also reports of production stalling from several NTPC plants in the past. According to the latest information, due to the affected coal supply, now even in states like Bihar and Rajasthan, power cuts of more than 5-5 hours are being done in villages and small towns.
While people in Bihar and Rajasthan are facing declared power cuts due to non-availability of adequate power supply from NTPC, the situation has worsened in Madhya Pradesh. People are facing undeclared power-cut in many districts of MP. Power cuts are happening for hours in major cities of the state. The situation has reached to such an extent that the MLAs and other leaders of the ruling party BJP in the state have also started raising questions about the power-cut.
MP: BJP MLA upset over cuts, angry with his own government
The power supply in Madhya Pradesh is similar during the monsoon season, unannounced cuts from above have made people miserable. In many districts of the state, the lights are getting switched off anytime these days. It is being told that the state owes Rs 900 crore to Coal India, due to which there is less supply of coal to the power plants here. As a result, power generation has been affected.
While the opposition Congress is making a mark on the Shivraj government for the continuous power cuts, the MLAs of the ruling party BJP are also raining on their own government. Regarding the power cut in the state, BJP MLAs Narayan Tripathi and Rakesh Giri Goswami have said that there are many hours of undeclared power cuts in urban and rural areas in the state. Due to this the public and the farmers are upset.
On September 4, MLA Narayan Tripathi has even warned of a big agitation in the entire area regarding the suffering of the people being troubled by the power cuts for hours and hours. At the same time, the situation in Jabalpur district has become so critical that common people are reaching to surround the power station due to power cuts. For this reason, the officials of the Electricity Department in Patan have demanded security for the power sub-station from the police.
Bihar: Power crisis in the state due to water in coal mines
In Bihar also people in cities and villages are forced to face power crisis due to lack of coal supply. In the cities of the state, where electricity is going for 3 hours and in villages for 5-5 hours. Rain is the main reason for power crisis in Bihar.
The power plants of NTPC from which the state gets electricity, there is a shortage of coal in those power houses. Coal is supplied to these power stations from Eastern India Coal Fields (ECL) and Central Coal Fields (CCL). Due to incessant rains and water ingress in many mines, as coal extraction has slowed down, due to this there has been a shortage of coal in power plants.
Rajasthan: Coal runs out in 8 production units, deepening crisis
Like Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, people in Rajasthan are also facing power crisis these days. Due to the shortage of coal in all the major centers producing 3000 MW of electricity in the state, this crisis has come to the fore again.
This situation has arisen due to shortage of coal in eight thermal units of Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam. According to the rules of the Central Electricity Authority, coal should remain in stock for at least 25 to 30 days in supercritical thermal units. But the situation has become such that due to the exhaustion of coal itself, production has to be stopped. The 1200 MW units of Kalisindh, 1250 MW of Suratgarh and 660 MW of Chhabra Thermal Power Plant are stalled.
To keep the power supply running, the Vidyut Vitran Nigam is buying electricity from outside at expensive prices. The corporation has to buy electricity from 3.70 paise to Rs 15.50, which averages out to Rs 6.16. State Energy Minister Dr. BD Kalla has asked the officials of the power companies to make such arrangements for proper supply of electricity and minimum cuts. It has been told that the minister will soon discuss this with the officials of the Ministry of Coal and the Ministry of Railways, so that the power crisis can be overcome.
Week-long crisis, NTPC made this appeal to the states
Regarding the nationwide power crisis, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has said that the company is working to deal with the crisis at the earliest. On behalf of the Corporation, it has been said that for smooth supply of coal to the power plants located in different states of the country, talks are being held with the officials of Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Coal.
Under the Coal Distribution Policy, alternative arrangements are being made to ensure that power plants get coal supply according to their capacity and power generation is not affected. NTPC has said that efforts are on to ensure smooth supply from coal mines as well. According to NTPC, this crisis can last for a week. In view of this, the corporation has also requested for assistance from the states regarding the current power crisis.
NTPC has asked the states facing power crisis to make arrangements for supply of electricity from gas based generating stations in the current situation. Along with this, the corporation has also appealed to the states to schedule the power distribution system in the state for a week. That is, the system of power supply can continue for the next few days with partial cuts in these states.
