Maharashtra Energy Minister Says State Facing Power Crisis Due to Coal Shortage

Nitin Raut added that the state has been working to resolve the crisis.

Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut on Friday, 15 April, said that the state is grappling with an acute power crisis as some of its plants are left with coal that would suffice only for 1.5 days.

(Photo: PTI)

Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut, on Friday, 15 April, said that the state is grappling with an acute power crisis as some of its plants are left with coal that would suffice only for 1.5 days.

He, however, added that the state has been working to resolve the crisis, reported news agency ANI.

While some plants in Maharashtra are left with only "1.5 days of coal, some have coal that would suffice for three days, and a few others are left with six days of coal."

To enhance electricity generation via hydropower, he further said the Water Resources Minister had been asked to provide water to the electricity department.

'Centre Not Providing Us APM Gas': Raut

"Koyna Dam is left with 17 TMCs of water; one TMC is needed every day to generate electricity. If load shedding needs to be resolved, then coal, water and gas are needed," he said.

According to reports, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has begun carrying out load shedding or power cuts as it faces a shortage of 2,500 MW-3,000 MW of power. Although the state's power demand has risen to a record 28,000 MW, MSEDCL is able to provide only 24,800 MW of power.

The minister further alleged that the Union government was not providing the state with Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) gas, which the latter is entitled to receive as per a contract signed with the Centre.

"They (Centre) asked us to first give money and then get the coal. Maharashtra has to provide Rs 2,200 crores for the same," he said.

Union Power Minister RK Singh, too, had said on Thursday that the demand for coal had increased by eight to nine percent in recent times. The supply, however, has not seen a corresponding increase, he said, while speaking to journalists.

"The coal reserve is less. Earlier, we used to have a reserve for nearly 15 days. But now we have reserve only for nine days. Demand has definitely increased, but supply cannot be increased so fast, he said, adding that the states of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are also likely to face a power crisis.

(With inputs from ANI)