The situation precipitated by the skyrocketing electricity demand and coal shortage across the country is very grave, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday, as the national capital grappled with a crippling paucity of power. He said the crisis needs to be addressed with quick and concrete steps. Delhi's Power Minister Satyendra Jain sent out an SOS to the Centre saying the national capital's power plants were operating with "less than a day's coal backup". Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot appealed to the masses to shut down non-essential electrical appliances to help the country tide over the crisis.
"There is a huge shortage of power in the country. So far we have managed it somehow in Delhi. The situation is very grave in the whole of India. Together we soon need to find a solution. Quick, concrete steps are required to tackle this problem," Kejriwal tweeted.
At a press conference, Jain was quoted by the news agency ANI as saying," We don't have power back up...back up should be that of coal of over 21 days, but at many power plants, less than a day's coal left. Can't function on a day's back up".
He said it would be problematic if Delhi's power plants were to shut down due to the shortage of coal.
On Thursday, the Delhi government warned that if the coal shortage wasn't resolved, it might not be able to supply electricity to critical infrastructure like the Metro trains and hospitals.
On Thursday, Jain held an emergency meeting to assess the situation and wrote to the Centre requesting it to ensure adequate coal availability to power plants that supply electricity to the national capital.
"Due to disruption of power supply from Dadri-II and Unchahar power stations, there may be a problem in 24-hours power supply to many essential institutions, including Delhi Metro and Delhi government hospitals," a government statement read.
The six power plants in Delhi produce around 30 percent of the city's electricity demand.
"In Rajasthan, the BJP is putting pressure on the electricity department employees, who are doing their work in a challenging atmosphere amidst the power crisis, by staging demonstrations," the veteran Congress leader said..
