The All India Electricity Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has said that the power crisis in 12 states will create a blackout-like situation. The federation has given these reasons behind this-
This situation of power crisis has arisen due to shortage of coal. The Hindu has reported in a report that out of 150 coal-fired power plants across the country, 81 power plants have suffered coal shortages.
This situation is not only in government power plants, but also in private sector thermal power plants. There is a shortage of coal in 28 power plants out of 54 private power plants.
AIPEF spokesperson VK Gupta says that the demand for electricity increases during the summer days. In such a situation, more coal is needed to increase electricity production.
At present there is a shortage of coal in all the 7 thermal plants of Rajasthan. These plants generate 7580 MW of electricity. Similarly, there is a shortage of coal in 3 out of 4 government thermal plants in UP. These four plants generate 6129 MW of electricity. This is the reason that there is a possibility of massive power cuts in both these states.
On the website of the ministry, one of the reasons for the power cut in the summer days has been given to the reduction in hydro power i.e. the power generated from water. Due to the scarcity of water coming from the mountains in the rivers, these days hydro power plants are able to generate electricity only 30% to 40% of their capacity.
Why the sudden shortage of coal?
Coal accounts for 70% of the total electricity generation in India. In such a situation, the reason for the shortage of coal is the demand for more power. According to the report, the demand for electricity every month in 2021 was 124.2 billion units. Now in 2022, as soon as the summer comes, it has increased to 132 billion units. The Coal Management Team (CMT) has given 3 reasons for the shortage of coal in the power plant:-
1.The Russian-Ukraine war has led to an increase in coal prices. In such a situation, the government has reduced the supply of coal from Russia and other countries. The total import of coal during January 2022 to April 2022 has gone up to 173.20 million tonnes. The coal import in the same 4 months during the financial year 2020 was 207.235 million tonnes. In this way the total import of coal this year has come down by about 16.42%.
2.Due to the poor supply chain, suddenly the demand for coal increased as soon as the summer came, then there was a decrease in the supply. As a result, there has been a shortage of coal in the power plant. This is the reason why the central government has asked to increase the number of railway carriages for the supply of coal to the power plant.
3.In 2021, the production and transportation of coal has also come down due to bad weather. Due to this, the stock of coal has been decreasing since last year.
What is the government doing for the coal crisis?
1.Coal India Limited (CIL) has decided to improve the supply chain first in view of the shortage of coal in the power plant. For this, it has been said to transport coal to the first power plant through trains. Coal is being transported in private companies only through trucks.
2.Not only this, Union Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi has tweeted to increase coal production and supply. In view of the shortage of coal in the power plant, it has been said to produce 2 million tonnes of coal every day.
3.Coal India has said in its statement that in 2021, 1.43 million tonnes of coal was produced per day, which has now been increased to 1.64 million tonnes per day.
How will the shortage of coal affect the price of electricity?
Fitch has reported in its report that the power shortage has increased from 0.3% to 1% in April 2022. As a result, in the beginning of April 2022, the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Regulator has increased the tariff by 15 paise. Not only this, according to Energy Exchange, the average purchase price of electricity has reached the highest level in 13 years. At present, the average purchase price of electricity is Rs 8.23 per kWh. This is more than double as compared to March 2021. In such a situation, electricity regulatory companies in many states including Madhya Pradesh have indicated to increase the price.
How will the government end the blackout crisis?
Coal accounts for more than 70% of electricity production in India. The power generation capacity through various channels in the country is 382.73 GW, of which 202.67 GW is generated from coal. At the same time, if we talk about America, the world’s largest economy, there is 21% electricity production from coal. Most of the electricity in the US is produced from fossil fuels.
This is the reason why the central government has prepared a plan to permanently end the problem of power crisis or blackout due to shortage of coal. For this, the Narendra Modi government at the Center has set a target of generating 280 GW of solar power by 2030. To achieve this goal, the government has decided to set up solar power plants to generate 25 GW of electricity every year.
