Govt jacks up thermal power output, averts major blackout

NEW DELHI: Coal-fired electricity generation has registered a sharp increase this month, preventing large-scale blackouts as the power, coal and railway ministries made a concerted bid to improve fuel supply to power stations from domestic sources and imports.
The latest available government data till May 17 shows daily generation from domestic coal-fired plants rising more than 31% to 3,244 MU (million units) this month from 2,465 MU during all of May 2021.
The daily output from domestic coal-based plants that blended domestic fuel with imported coal has more than doubled from 143 MU during the period from 66 MU registered in May last year.
This vindicates the power ministry’s move to ask states and generation companies to import coal with a view to supplement availability of domestic fuel as the growth in power demand outstrips rise in production by a wide margin, stretching railway infrastructure to the limit.