The central government is meeting all the demands of the states to alleviate the energy crisis facing the country. Emphasis has been placed on increasing coal reserves in the last four days. The situation will return to normal within a month, government sources said. There is no shortage of daily power and coal supply. Meanwhile, the Union Energy Ministry has instructed the states not to sell electricity at high prices to ease the energy crisis.
According to government sources, the Coal Ministry has been writing to the states to take stock from Coal India since January, but has not received any response from the states. Coal India can only stock up to a certain limit as there is a risk of coal burning due to overstocking. Coal India has its own coal mines in Jharkhand, Rajasthan and West Bengal but the excavation is minimal or non-existent.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the government was doing its utmost to meet the demand of coal from power producers. Coal supply is currently 19.5 lakh tonnes per day, but it will soon be increased to 20 lakh tonnes. At the Coal Ministry, we are trying to meet the demand for this fuel. The supply was 19.5 lakh tonnes on Monday. Of this, 16 lakh tonnes was sent by Coal India and the rest by Singarali Collieries. A total of 19.5 lakh tonnes was supplied.
The Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday held a review meeting on coal supply and power generation. The meeting also discussed ways to increase coal transportation, sources said. The Coal Ministry has been asked to increase the supply of coal, while the Railways has been asked to provide rakes to carry fuel to power projects. Due to the shortage of coal, people from Rajasthan to Kerala have to face power cuts.
Railways has also taken a big step during the power crisis in the country. Trains are now running 24 hours to deliver coal to the power plant. The national transporter has declared the coal shortage as an emergency. The Principal Chief Operating Managers of all the Zonal Railways have been instructed to set up a 24-hour operational control room.