Power plants Delhi sources electricity from getting regular coal supply: NTPC
Delhi’s power demand crossed the 6,000 megawatts (MW) per day mark for the first time in April on Thursday.
New Delhi: The NTPC Limited on Friday said Dadri-II and Unchahar power plants are running at full capacity and receiving regular supplies a day after the Delhi government claimed that they had coal stocks for only up to two days.
“Currently Unchahar and Dadri stations are declaring more than 100% rated capacity to the grid. All units of Unchahar and Dadri are running at full load except Unchahar Unit 1, which is under annual planned overhaul,” NTPC said in a statement. “All six units of Dadri and five units of Unchahar are running at full capacity and receiving regular coal supplies. Present stock is 140000 MT and 95000 MT respectively and import coal supplies are also in pipeline.”
The Delhi government on Thursday said coal at two of the five stations it sources power from would last only about one or two days. It requested the Centre to provide enough stock. The appeal came on a day when Delhi’s power demand crossed the 6,000 megawatts (MW) per day mark for the first time in April.
Also Read | Power cuts across states amid coal supply crunch
“These power stations play an important role in preventing blackouts in some parts of Delhi and are also essential in ensuring the continuous supply of electricity to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, hospitals, and several areas in summer,” state power minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday.
The Delhi government on Thursday said Dadri-II had a day’s coal stock left and Unchahar two days, Kahalgaon three-and-a-half days, Farakka five days, and Jhajjar around seven or eight days.
Several states have raised an alarm about low coal stocks for power stations over the last week amid rising power demand due to a heatwave. Some states have resorted to load shedding as power plants are unable to run at full capacity due to a slow supply of coal primarily because of logistical issues, other than the increase in electricity consumption.
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren wrote to the Centre seeking outstanding dues of Coal India Limited (CIL) and its subsidiaries. “If that is not cleared, we will stop supply.”
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the coal ministry to supply the state with 72,000 MT of coal daily.
Haryana has decided to import coal for the first time in a decade. States such as Maharashtra and West Bengal have had to resort to power cuts. Madhya Pradesh has requested additional coal rakes from the Centre.
Union power minister RK Singh on Thursday blamed states for the electricity outages, saying the problems were not due to a shortage of coal but because of non-payment dues to CIL, delay in lifting coal, and “improper planning”.
