Coal shortage beyond usual, situation touch and go: Power Minister RK Singh

As the economy recovers from pandemic blows, a sharp surge in energy demand has triggered an unprecedented fuel shortage at the country’s coal-fired stations, a situation that Union Power Minister R K Singh terms way “beyond” the normal post-monsoon supply crunch.

While there is expectation that the demand could start tapering off from the latter half of October, Singh said the bridging of the fuel gap is still likely to be a “touch and go” affair and that he is bracing for a trying “next five-six months”. “I can’t say I am secure… If you have 40,000-50,000 MW (of thermal capacity) with less than three days of stock, you can’t be secure,” Singh told The Indian Express in an interview.