Four thermal power units in Rajasthan are shut and the rest have 3-4 days of stock left of coal as the Rajasthan Vidhyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (power generation firm) has run out of money to pay for coal.
Two thermal units of Kalisindh (Jhalawar) of 600x2 MW, 250MW of Giral (Barmer) and 1500MW of Suratgarh Thermal Power Station in Sriganganagar are shut for the last 10 days. One unit of Kalisindh was expected to start on Sunday.
A department official on condition of anonymity said most of the power plants of the state have coal for 2-4 days. With dues of coal firms pending, the supply was stopped resulting in the shutting down of some thermal plants.
Rajasthan has six thermal units in district Suratgarh with 2160 MW capacity, Kota (1240MW), Chhabra (1320MW), Kalisindh (1200MW), Giral 250MW (Barmer), 270.50MW plant in Jaisalmer.
As of August 1, 2021, Rajasthan has to clear an outstanding of ₹409 crore to Parsa Kanta Collieries Limited (PKCL), ₹68 crore is to be cleared to Northern Coalfields Limited, ₹325 crore is released; and ₹444.6 crore is pending to South Eastern Coalfields, ₹530 crore is released, said the official.
The state government needs to clear a pending amount of over ₹900 crore to coal companies. Facing a crisis, the CM has released ₹900 crore, and is sanctioning another ₹1000 crore to clear the dues.
{{/usCountry}}The state government needs to clear a pending amount of over ₹900 crore to coal companies. Facing a crisis, the CM has released ₹900 crore, and is sanctioning another ₹1000 crore to clear the dues.
{{/usCountry}}With the thermal units shutting down, the discoms are also buying power from the power exchange to meet the need. “Due to a weak monsoon, which resulted in high temperatures, the demand for electricity has increased from 20 crore units per day to 30 crore units per day,” he said.
Energy Minister, BD Kalla said the coal shortage issue will be resolved in a week. “Under the agreement, Coal India was supposed to give four and a half rakes but instead sent three. We have urged them to meet the gap by sending nine racks (one rake contains 4000 tonne).” He added that efforts are made to provide coal through rail and road transport to meet the requirement in coming 7 days.
Kalla said Union minister Prahlad Joshi had assured that the shortage will be met. The shortage is due to the coal mines flooding with water – the water is being pumped out and soon supply will start.
Former CM Vasundhara Raje targeted the government over the power crisis saying that it is due to mismanagement. In a statement, Raje said due to the mismanagement of the government, there are unannounced power cuts in the state. Not only in the villages, people are also troubled in the cities too due to power cuts. The biggest Suratgarh Super Thermal Power Plant has come to a standstill. Apart from this, many power houses are shut and many are on the verge of closure.
She said the state government was not paying for coal, hence the supply had been stopped, which has affected power generation. During her government, the payment was on time, and hence there was no shortage of coal, she said.