Coal Crisis Update: India To Face Blackout Anytime

India joins China in the power crisis as many as 70 power plants out of 115 which run on coal are do not have sufficient coal. If the demands are not met immediately and the coal shortage continues then half of the country may face total blackout as conditions are worse in 8 states including the country’s capital Delhi.

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi has confirmed that these power plants have only 4 days of stock left.  Meanwhile, he warned the companies regarding the same but the problem is bigger than it seems.

We have an average coal reserve (at power stations) that can last for more than 4 days. The stock is replenished every day. I am in touch with (Union Minister for Coal & Mines) Pralhad Joshi: Union Power Minister RK Singh after chairing a meeting with discoms in Delhi pic.twitter.com/zKX5ndo7OQ

— ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2021

Here is what made us fall into the power crisis in 2021 and the steps taken by Government to deal with this situation.

4 Reasons Why India Is Facing Coal Crisis All of Sudden

Rating firm CRISIL has put a light upon the entire scenario to identify the reasons behind the coal crisis. Hetal Gandhi who is the director of the firm has come up with the following factors contributing to it:

1. Rising Demands

Gandhi said the country has been facing growth in power demand since April 2021. This is also the time when India started regaining its hold on the economy after the pandemic. In her opinion, sharp recovery of the economy and poor anticipation by thermal power companies led to this situation.

2. Monsoon Fuels The Power Crisis

The second factor that adds up to the power crisis of India is the monsoon that brought uneven rainfall, heavy flood, and cyclones this year. Odisha, Gujarat, and Kerela received less rainfall reducing the generation of hydro-based power.

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3. Transport Blockage

Coal India has a vital role in the coal crisis of India as the company failed to supply the demands of power companies despite having enough stocks at the pithead. The reason behind this failure is the blockage of the transportation route due to heavy rainfall and flood.

4. Pressure On Domestic Coal Companies

According to Sandeep Kalia who is a principal analyst at Energy Research company Wood Mackenzie, growing dependency on aluminum, steel, and other industries is another factor.

These non-power companies relied on domestic suppliers to meet their needs despite the low heating value of domestic coal. The rising cost of transportation and the huge gap between international and domestic coal is responsible for this.

Eventually, it led to an extra burden on such companies that struggle to meet demands by cutting supply to industrial consumers.

Worst Is Yet To Come For India

Although the downward growth in maintaining necessary coal stock is a problem for the entire country, few states will face severe consequences. This is so as time is running out and Government fears that several companies may take advantage of the power crisis.

They may sell power to get benefit from rising coal prices. Warning them, the coal minister said that supply to such states will be restricted if it happens.

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8 States Struggling For Power Amidst Coal Crisis

Home Minister Amit Shah has raised concern over few states where power outage is expected to become frequent. These states are:

• Delhi
• Punjab
• Rajasthan
• Andhra Pradesh
• Tamil Nadu
• Bihar
• Kerala
• Maharashtra

Many states like Rajasthan and Punjab have announced scheduled power cuts to deal with situations. Andhra Pradesh has raised concern over the direct impact on crops due to the electricity crisis in a letter to PM Modi.

Meanwhile, Coal Minister has assured that country will get an adequate supply of coal in a meeting held early morning with PM.