Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday reviewed the coal supply and power generation scenario as the government looks at ways to defuse the energy crisis being faced by several states. At the meeting over coal shortage at power plants which have led to blackouts in some states, Power Secretary Alok Kumar and Coal Secretary AK Jain made a presentation on coal and power availability, sources said, adding that ways to increase transportation of coal were also discussed during the meeting.
The coal ministry has been asked to ramp up the supply of coal while railways has been asked to make available rakes to transport the fuel to power plants, the sources said. The shortage of coal — which makes up around 70 per cent of India’s electricity mix — has forced rotational power cuts in states from Rajasthan to Kerala. About two-thirds of the coal-fired power plants had stockpiles of a week or less but the coal ministry said, “any fear of disruption in the power supply is entirely misplaced.” States have been forced to buy power from exchanges at high rates to meet demand.
