State govt. seeks to import coal

16 October  2017

Faced with a shortfall in power generation due to inadequate supply of coal, the State government has sought permission from the Centre to purchase coal from the international market. State Power Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “After the problem we faced this year with domestic coal supply disrupted by the rains, we think it’s necessary to have a back-up plan ready to avoid load-shedding.”

He said tenders will be invited from mines worldwide. “Inviting bids doesn’t necessarily mean we will buy coal from them immediately. We’re seeking permission to import 20 lakh tonnes coal. It will take another month for the domestic coal supply to return to normal. We had coal stock for 21 days, but it was used up as the supply was being reduced gradually.”

The State had faced a power shortfall 2,000 MW after coal supply from SCCL was reduced due to excessive rains. The government is purchasing around 1,400 MW of electricity from different sources on monthly basis to make up for the shortfall. In addition, 600 MW of electricity is being taken from power exchange. As of Tuesday, the demand for electricity was 14,700 MW matched the supply.

Source: The Hindu