115 out of 135 power plants across India facing acute coal shortage: CEA

After several states in India warned the Centre of a blackout situation due to the coal shortage across the country, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) decided to do a review of the status of coal availability across the power plants in India.

The CEA, in its reports, mentioned that out of the 135 power plants in India, 115 are facing an acute shortage of coal amid the surge in demands of the fuel. The CEA further notices that power plants across the country might not have enough coal to sustain in the long term.

In its report, CEA mentioned that 115 power plants across the country are facing an acute shortage of coal, as the stock of the fuel is less than normal, while 17 power plants in the country don’t even have enough coal to sustain for a day.

The CEA report further states that only a one-day supply of coal is left in 26 power plants while a two-day supply remains available in 22 power plants, three days in 18 and four days in 13 power plants. The report also states that in 11 power plants of the country, there was a stock of 5 days of coal and in 8 power plants, 6 days of coal supply is left.

The 33 power plants located in northern India are all facing an acute shortage of coal, as per reports. In 9 of these 33 power plants, there is not even a single day’s coal supply left. The CEA hinted at a power crisis in the country with their report, stating that on average, the power plants in India have just 4 days of coal supply left.

Yesterday, the Delhi government said that the power plants in the national capital will run out of coal shortly. The government said that there is less than 2-3 days' worth of coal left in the plants, and Delhi can be on the brink of a blackout situation in a couple of days.

Other states such as Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and others are also facing an acute shortage amid the sudden surge in the coal demand in the country. People in these areas are facing long power cuts as the state governments are trying to ration their coal supply.