India is going through a severe power shortage these days. This is the worst power crisis in six years. The heat was at its peak in all of South Asia this week. Earlier, the month of March proved to be the hottest March in history. Obviously, the summer season has just started and the heat is starting to scorch. In many parts of the national capital Delhi, the mercury has crossed 46 degrees Celsius.
In these circumstances the need for electricity has increased. The increased requirement is not being met because thermal power plants do not have enough coal. There are government figures that the need for electricity in North India has increased between 16 and 75 percent. Due to this, the demand for electricity has increased by 13.2 percent to reach 135.4 billion kWh. In such a situation, from Jammu and Kashmir to Andhra Pradesh, almost every part of the country has faced power cuts for two to 10 hours.
Electricity demand and supply
The demand for electricity fell short of 2.41 billion units, or 1.8 per cent, the highest since October 2015. In April, electricity demand in Delhi increased by 42 percent, in Punjab by 36 percent and in Rajasthan by 28 percent. Even in the small northeastern state of Sikkim, electricity usage increased by 74.7 percent due to increased temperatures. In hilly states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the demand for electricity increased by more than 16 per cent. In other northern states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand in the east, the demand for electricity increased by more than 25 per cent.
need coal
India generates about 200 GW of electricity, or 70 percent, from thermal power stations. At this time the production in most of the power stations has come down. Most of the power stations have the lowest coal reserves left in the last nine years. Coal India is supplying 16.4 lakh tonnes of coal per day to power plants, but the demand for coal has reached 22 lakh tonnes per day.
Coal India has not increased the production of coal. According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), 86 out of 150 power stations have depleted coal reserves. Presently, 21.2 million tonnes of coal is available in thermal power stations across the country, which is much below the normal level of 66.3 million tonnes.
Import vs. Domestic Production
Coal imports have declined. India, the world’s second largest coal importer, has consistently tried to reduce its imports for some years now. During this period, domestic coal suppliers have not increased their production as rapidly. This has reduced the supply once.
In such a situation, there is a need for more import of coal, but due to the Russo-Ukraine war, the price of coal in the international market has reached a record level of 400 dollars i.e. 30 thousand rupees per tonne. In addition to coal production in the country, about 200 million tonnes of coal is imported annually from Indonesia, China and Australia. Imports from these countries started declining after October 2021.
rising arrears
The dues of Coal India Limited (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) have accumulated significantly on the producer companies (Genco) of various states. Maharashtra owes Rs 2,608.07 crore, West Bengal Rs 1066.40 crore, Jharkhand Rs 1018.22 crore, Tamil Nadu Rs 823.92 crore, Madhya Pradesh Rs 531.42 crore and Rajasthan Rs 429.47 crore.
Coal India maintains that dues related to Genco in states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan and West Bengal are very high. As per the agreement between SCCL and State and Central Genco, SCCL is supplying coal to various thermal power plants. It owes Andhra Pradesh 764.70 crores, Karnataka 514.14 crores, Tamil Nadu about 90 crores. On the other hand, the power generating companies owe more than Rs 1.1 lakh crore to the power distribution companies i.e. DISCOMs.
What does the Ministry of Coal say?
Coal production by CIL has increased by 27.2 per cent and coal supply by 5.8 per cent in April 2022 over the same period last year. According to the ministry, there is an additional nine days of coal available beyond the daily supply. Coal India currently has 56.7 metric tonnes of coal reserves. Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has reserves of 4.3 MT.
At the same time, the captive coal block has reserves of about 2.3 metric tonnes. Good shed siding, washery siding and port have 4.7 MT of coal lying around and can be sent to power plants immediately. About two metric tonnes of coal is available on the siding of Coal India. Coal India has offered 5.75 MT of coal to power generation companies and out of this the companies have agreed to book 5.3 MT. All Gencos have been advised to import 10 per cent coal for blending.
- According to the Ministry of Power, India’s electricity demand touched an all-time high of 207.11 GW on Friday, April 29, the highest in a single day.
what the experts say
The central government is monitoring the situation on a day to day basis. At present the situation is under control and we will supply the required coal to the country. Thermal power stations now have a stock of nine and a half days. Also with Coal India, we have around 72.5 million tonnes of reserves.
- RK Singh, Union Energy Minister
The main reason for the power crisis is the huge decline in power generation from various fuel sources. The economy boomed as the COVID-19 outbreak eased and power demand picked up, in addition to an early summer this year, rising gas and imported coal prices, and reduced power generation.
- AK Jain, Union Coal Secretary