Today, a Delhi Minister cautioned that if coal supplies to power plants do not increase, the national capital could face a blackout in the next two days. Delhi has joined a lengthy list of states, including Tamil Nadu and Odisha, that have expressed alarm about prolonged power outages caused by a coal scarcity in power plants. According to data from India’s federal grid operator, more than half of the country’s 135 coal-fired power plants, which supply roughly 70% of the country’s electricity, have fuel stocks of fewer than three days.
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“If coal supplies do not increase, there would be a blackout in Delhi in two days,” said Satyendra Jain, the national capital’s Power Minister. Mr. Jain explained that coal-fired power stations that deliver electricity to Delhi must hold a minimum coal reserve of one month, but this has now been reduced to one day.
Mr. Jain claimed that the coal shortage is “man-made,” similar to the medical oxygen shortage during the COVID-19 second wave. In Bawana, on the outskirts of Delhi, there is a 1,300-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant.
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According to a study of daily load despatch data from India’s central grid regulator, the country’s power supply deficit in the first seven days of October accounted for 11.2% of the country’s overall shortages for the year. Although the data is open to the public, the analysis provides the first concrete indication of the scope of the problem. Global energy supplies are being stressed as prices rise, while demand and supply chains are being strained by the return of consumption following the pandemic’s lockdowns.
