JOIN USArvind Kejriwal flags 'coal shortage'; Centre assures enough power supply to Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday yet again raised the issue of coal shortage even as Union Power minister RK Singh said Delhi discoms will get as much power as they require.
The Delhi government has warned of supply disruptions citing shortage of coal stocks at various power plants.
"The electricity supply in Delhi is being managed by us (Delhi government). This problem is faced by the whole country due to coal shortage," Kejriwal told reporters at the sideline of an event.
The Union power minister reviewed the coal stock position at thermal power plants, including the plants supplying power to distribution companies of Delhi, the Ministry of Power said in a statement.
"The minister has directed that the distribution companies of Delhi will get as much as power as requisitioned by them as per their demand," it added.
Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) said in a statement that it is keeping a close watch on the coal stocks of the generating stations with which it has a long-term power purchase agreement.
"In order to ensure uninterrupted power supply and additional demand, TPDDL has recently concluded an additional tie-up to the extent of 150 MW (megawatt) from May first week to July 31," the statement read.
In view of summer and high demand, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission on Friday relaxed several provisions concerning the short-term power purchase to enable discoms in the capital procure the available power without any loss of time.
The three discoms in Delhi – TPDDL, BRPL (BSES Rajdhani Power Limited) and BYPL (BSES Yamuna Power Limited) – have anticipated a substantial hike in power demand in their areas of supply this summer.
Last year, the peak demand of TPDDL was 1,120 MW, which is estimated to go up to 2,350 MW this summer.
The estimated peak demand of BRPL and BYPL is 3,500 MW and 1,800 MW this year. It was 3,118 MW and 1,656 MW for BRPL and BYPL, respectively, in 2021.
Delhi's ever-increasing peak power demand is expected to cross 8,200 MW during the summers of 2022. Apart from adequate power, the strength of the network is also critical to ensure reliable power supply, a spokesperson of the BSES discoms said.
The Delhi government had earlier too flagged an "acute shortage" of coal, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying the situation was being handled somehow.
The chief minister had called for quick and concrete steps to tackle the crisis facing the country.
Due to severe heat in April, the peak demand of Delhi rose to 6,197 MW on Friday, the highest ever for April.
The peak demand on Friday had crossed the 6,000 MW-mark for the second day in a row. It was 6,050 MW on Thursday.
Due to weekend, the peak demand on Saturday came down to 5,989 MW.
The power ministry maintained that a total capacity of 6,892 MW was available for Delhi and there was no shortage of supply to the capital.
Watch latest videos by DH here: