Rains stoke concern that coal shortages may linger on

The possibility of torrential rains and flooding in some of India’s coal-producing states is threatening to stretch out a shortage of the fuel just as supplies to power plants rise.

Heavy rains are expected to lash parts of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal — all major coal-producing provinces — until tomorrow, India Meteorological Department said in a bulletin Monday.

Adverse weather has already hampered coal supplies, worsening the power crisis. The nation has been witnessing shortages of its most dominant fuel since at least August, as demand surges with the economy emerging from the pandemic, while rains have hindered production and supplies.