New Delhi: Amid a looming energy crisis due to coal-based power plants facing a coal shortage, the Union government has said that the country has sufficient coal available to meet the demand of power plants. The Ministry of Coal in a press release said that any fear of disruption in the power supply is entirely misplaced.
The ministry said that the country's power plants have a stock of 72 Lakh tonnes of coal which is sufficient for four days. While Coal India Limited (CIL) has a stock of more than 400 Lakh tonnes, which is being supplied to the power plants. The ministry said that the domestic coal-based power generation has grown by nearly 24% in this year (till September 2021) based on a robust supply from the coal companies.
The coal available at the power plants is a rolling stock that gets replenished by the supplies from the coal companies on a daily basis. This time the coal supply to power plants was disrupted due to extended monsoons. However, the government has allayed any fears of coal shortage.
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Despite heavy rains in the coal field areas, CIL had supplied more than 255 MT coal to the power sector this year which is the highest ever H-1 supply from CIL to the power sector. Out of the total coal supply from all sources, the present coal supply from CIL to the power sector is more than 14 lakh tonnes per day and with the receding rains, this supply has already increased to 15 lakh tonnes and is set to increase to more than 16 lakh tonnes per day by the end of October 2021. The supply from SCCL and captive coal blocks shall contribute to another 3 lakh plus tonnes of coal every day, the Coal Ministry informed.
Domestic coal supplies have supported power generation in a major way despite heavy monsoons, low coal imports and a steep hike in power demand due to economic recovery. It is expected that coal supplies are set to be at a record high in the current financial year.
