'1.5 days supply...': Maharashtra minister flags potential coal, power crisis

Maharashtra energy minister Nitin Raut said that coal, water and gas supply was needed to resolve the load-shedding crisis in the state. According to reports, the power demand in Maharashtra has risen to a record 28,000 MW.

Published on: Apr 15, 2022, 18:01:00 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Aryan Prakash

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Maharashtra energy minister Nitin Raut on Friday claimed the state was grappling with coal and power crisis. “Some plants in Maharashtra are left with 1.5-days of coal, some with 3 days & some others with 6 days of coal. The state government is working to resolve power crisis. The water resources minister has been asked to supply water for hydroelectricity generation,” Raut told news agency ANI.

Maintaining that coal, water and gas supply was needed to resolve the load-shedding in Maharashtra, the minister said," Koyna Dam is left with 17 thousand million cubic feet of water (TMC). One TMC is needed every day to generate electricity. If load-shedding has to be resolved then coal, water and gas are needed. As per the contract with the Centre, they're entitled to make APM gas available to the state government."

Maharashtra energy minister Nitin Raut. (Twitter/ANI)

The minister claimed that the Centre had not provided the state with the necessary APM gas. “Maharashtra Govt has to provide ₹2200 crores to the Centre. The union government asked us to pay the money first and only then will they provide us with coal,” Raut said in Nagpur.

Earlier, Hindustan Times reported that the power supply in Maharashtra may improve marginally from mid-May after the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MahaGenco) imports 20 lakh metric tonnes of coal from abroad.

Facing a gap of 2,500 MW-3,000 MW, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has now started load shedding or power cuts. According to reports, the power demand in Maharashtra has risen to a record 28,000 MW, while the MSEDCL is servicing a demand of around 24,800 MW.

The Centre has said that the coal supply to electricity generating plants increased by 24.5 per cent to 677.67 million tonnes in the financial year 2021-22, as compared to the previous fiscal, news agency PTI reported.

The data showed that the supply of coal to power utilities stood at 544.07 MT in FY21, which was less than 567.25 MT recorded in FY20.

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HT News Desk
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