Amidst reports of a coal crisis in the country, Union Power Minister R.K. Singh and Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday. Top officials from the Power Ministry, Coal Ministry and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) were also present in the meeting held at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the North Block. The Ministry of Coal on Sunday reassured the country that ample coal is available in the country to meet the demand for power plants.
In an official release, the Ministry said any fear of disruption in the power supply is entirely misplaced. “The coal stock at power plant end is about 72 lakh tonnes, sufficient for 4 days requirement, and that the Coal India Limited (CIL) end is more than 400 lakh tonnes, which is being supplied to the power plants,” the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said many Chief Ministers have written to the Central government about the critical situation at power plants due to a coal shortage. “The situation is critical and many CMs have written about it to the Central government. We all are working together to improve the situation,” he said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also flagged the issue
of a possible coal shortage. “It is true there is a problem. As per our requirement, either we get it from NTPC or from private companies. But the supply is affected now. There are some reasons due to which such a situation has arisen. It is not only in Bihar, but also everywhere,” Kumar told journalists on Monday.
Meanwhile, a report from Ranchi said that amid reports of shortage of coal stock in the country, the Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) said that in the coming one or two weeks the problem will be stabilized. Chairman and Managing Director of CCL, PM Prasad said, “There is no such crisis. Definitely coal stock is on a low level because power generation is high this year. You can say there is much growth. For Coal India, we have supplied at least 53 million tonnes, more than last year, in the first half of the financial year.” He said that the Coal India stock will last for at least 20 days.
Asked about the current status of coal stock Prasad said, “The Coal India stock will last for at least 20 days minimum. In the case of CCL, it is 1.95 million and of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), it is 6.5 lakh tonnes. With this stock level and with the production is coming up since monsoon is over. I am confident that the stock remaining the same, whatever we will produce will dispatch to the power plant.”
With respect to Jharkhand, he said that both CCL and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) have more than 25% in dispatch growth. “In the coming days, since the monsoon is over I am very much confident that it will be stabilized in the next one week. And post-Durga Puja, it will be further picking up. In the last 3-4 days power plants are getting coal. If the requirement is 1.6 million, almost 1.55 million is being met. I am very much confident that in the coming one or two weeks it will be stabilized,” he emphasised. He said that powerhouse coal stocks are being monitored at multiple levels.
“We are continuously monitoring powerhouse stocks at 2-3 levels. One is at the Coal India level, one is at the Ministry of Coal level, further by inter-ministerial groups, Ministry of power and Railways. This is being done thrice weekly and at the company level, we are monitoring every day. We are having continuous discussions with the energy secretaries of some of the states, DVC chairman and linked power plants. We are in continuous touch,” added Prasad.