Delhi power crisis: Blackout warning for city, only ‘one day’ coal stock left

The warning comes after Delhi’s power minister held a meeting with representatives of power distribution companies (discoms) to discuss the “power crisis”.

talking to ANI After the meeting, Jain said, “There is acute shortage of coal in coal-fired power plants across the country. The plants from which Delhi gets electricity, there is only one day’s stock left, there is no coal.

Appealing to the government to transport coal to Delhi, Jain said, “There is an appeal to the central government to transport coal soon using railway wagons.”

He further informed that all the plants are already running at only 55 per cent capacity instead of full 3.4 lakh megawatt (MW) capacity. “Today instead of 3.4 MW demand, only 1 lakh MW is left, but still, the power plants are not able to meet this demand,” he said.

Jain said that while Delhi has no coal plant of its own, the national capital has only small plants that produce gas. “We have a 1300 MW plant in Bawana, which runs on gas, where the gas supply was stopped yesterday. And the national capital does not have any coal plant of its own. There are only three small plants which use gas,” he said. produce,” he said. .

He said that at present Delhi is dependent on the plant of the Centre, which is provided on demand for power supply. “After two days, there will be a complete blackout in entire Delhi, if we do not get more power supply from the Centre,” Jain said.

To solve the power crisis in Delhi, Jain said that the government is currently ready to buy expensive electricity.

“The capacity of our hydro power plants has also come down from 45,000 MW to 30,000 MW. But, we want the plants to generate 45,000 MW of power during this peak time. We have also signed 35,000 MW-45,000 MW power purchase agreements with NTPC Still we are ready to buy expensive electricity at today’s price ₹20 per unit, Jain said.

Further, Jain called this power crisis a ‘man-made crisis’. “It seems that this power crisis is a man-made crisis, just as the oxygen-crisis during the second wave of COVID-19 was also man-made,” he said.

Delhi may face power crisis: Kejriwal

Earlier today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also warned that the national capital may face a power crisis.

“I am personally monitoring the situation closely. We are trying our best to avoid it,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.

He had also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claiming that there is a coal shortage situation that has affected power generation plants supplying electricity in the National Capital Region and asked him to intervene in the matter. has requested.

The letter said, “I draw your attention to the current coal shortage situation which continues for the third consecutive month since August/September 21, which has led to power generation from major central generation schemes supplying power to the NCT of Delhi. has affected.” .

The letter also mentioned that depleting coal reserves in power generation stations leads to increased dependence on gas stations supplying electricity to Delhi. But, even the gas station that supplies electricity to Delhi does not have enough APM gas to run at full capacity, Kejriwal said.

“If the situation continues, it will badly affect the power supply situation in Delhi,” the Delhi chief minister said in the letter.

with agency input