India: Power crisis looms large as key thermal stations starve for coal

The coal shortage situation that has been brewing across the country’s thermal power stations has taken a turn for the worse, with at least six major thermal power stations across the country reporting that they have run out of coal stocks.

Of these, four stations – the 2000 MW Singrauli, the 2,600 MW Ramagundam, the 3,000 MW Talcher and 1,840 MW Kahalgaon – are operated by state-owned NTPC Ltd, which has communicated to the Centre that the utility is being forced to generate power based on day-to-day coal supplies at its plants and that some of its larger power stations could be shutdown if the situation does not improve fast.
The overall coal shortage situation across the country is at an all-time high, with 44 of the 77 thermal stations in the country reporting “critical stocks” required for below a week’s operations, of which 24 have supercritical stocks of under four days.

The shortages, according to the power utilities, are on account of a lower coal production by Coal India Ltd, mainly with excessive monsoon rains throwing production schedule out of gear at several coal fields, especially those in the eastern region. Higher than anticipated power generation at some stations and unloading constraints at others, combined with low levels of coal imports, have compounded the problem further. Besides, low coal supplies to its Farakka and Kahalgaon plants has been due to consistent break down of the coal handling system and non-operation of silos.

“We are forced to regulate generation based on day-to-day coal supplies and most of out key stations are facing the threat of closure. We have already asked for the Government’s intervention in directing Coal India Ltd to take action quickly or we are headed towards a major power crisis,” an NTPC official said. On August 5, for instance, NTPC’s generation at 500 million units was down by over five per cent, while Damodar Valley Corporation’s (DVC) thermal generation over 36 per cent below that target set for the day due to coal shortages, according to latest data.

To worsen matters, the import option for the country’s utilities is increasingly getting tougher as China, which is also facing low domestic reserves and acute power shortage, has stepped up coal purchases internationally.

The Hindu