Is India heading towards a blackout? A look at where states stand as coal shortages continue to persist

Is India heading towards a power blackout? As several states warned of possible blackouts due to the ongoing coal shortage in the country, the Narendra Modi-led government has assured one and all that the reports are "misleading" . However, fears continue to linger and a recent review of coal availability by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) provides a grim view of the country’s resources. In its last review, the CEA stated that of 115 of the 135 power plants are facing an acute shortage of coal. Moreover, 26 plants have only one-day supply of coal, while 22 power plants have a two-day supply and 13 power plants have four-day supply. Here’s a review of where the states stand and what the future looks like. Maharashtra On 10 October, it was reported that 13 thermal plants in Maharashtra had been shut down due to shortage of coal. This was followed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Regulatory Commission appealing to citizens to use power sparingly. A report has stated that the western state requires 1,49,000 metric tonnes of coal for power generation plants to run at 85 percent capacity but is now getting less than 70,000 metric tonnes. Officials have said that if the situation isn’t corrected in the next few days, then Maharashtra is looking at load shedding of at least six to eight hours each day. Punjab Facing a shortage of 1,000 megawatts of power every day and the closure of three thermal plants, the Charanjit Singh Channi-government in Punjab has reportedly agreed to take electricity from Tata Power’s imported coal-based power plant at Mundra in Gujarat for a week. As per the chief of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited the coal stocks in the state are enough to meet requirements for one or two days only. An Indian Express report on 10 October said that the Rajpura Thermal Plant had a coal reserve of 1.9 days, Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant has reserves of 1.3 days and GVK has just half-a-day of reserves. The two PSPCL run power plants at Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat also have just two days of stock left. Delhi In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that of the five coal-fired thermal power plants that supply Delhi electricity every day, one had run out of stock completely. On Sunday, reiterating the shortages, Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had said that the national capital may have power cuts if the situation continued. It has been reported that of the remaining four plants in Delhi, three had only a day of coal stocks, while the fourth had a reserve of only four days. Uttar Pradesh In Uttar Pradesh, the situation looks grim as eight power plants have already shut down owing to shortages. Currently, UP’s demand for power is 20,000 to 21,000 MW, but the supply stands at 17,000 MW. On Monday, PTI reported that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed UP Power Corporation Ltd Chairman M Devaraj to do a thorough review regarding the supply of coal to power plants in the state, and directed him to take all necessary steps to ensure adequate coal supply to power plants of the state. Adityanath also gave instructions to ensure continuous power supply in urban and rural areas between 6 pm and 7 am as the festival season is going on. He added that faulty transformers must be replaced in 48 hours in rural areas and 24 hours in urban areas as per the prescribed arrangements and the quality of the replaced transformers should also be checked. Rajasthan Rajasthan has already announced that the state’s villages will experience a 2-6 hour power cut and remote villages will see a 12-hour cut. In lieu of the shortages, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has urged consumers not to use electrical equipment that consumes high power, such as air conditioners, geysers, etc and use maximum natural light during the day to reduce pressure on the system. Reports state that Rajasthan is of now facing a difference of 4,000 megawatts in the demand and supply of power in the state. Madhya Pradesh The situation isn’t any better in Madhya Pradesh where if the thermal power stations run at full capacity, then coal stocks will run out in three days. As per a Times of India report, coal stocks at Shri Singaji Thermal Power station will last only one-and-a-half day if it runs at full capacity. Satpura TPA, as of Sunday, had only stocks for 3.8 days if it ran at full capacity while the Sanjay Gandhi power station had stocks only for 3.1 days. Madhya Pradesh energy minister Pradhuman Singh Tomar, however, allayed fears stating that they had floated tenders to purchase eight metric tonnes of coal for its power stations. Tamil Nadu The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd (TANGEDCO) announced that there would be no power cuts in the state for the time being. It said that it had enough coal to generate power for the next 11 days. Andhra Pradesh The problem is more severe in Andhra Pradesh as it is getting only 40,000 tonnes of supply against desired 70,000 tonnes of coal. Last week, due to a shortage of coal, three power stations had to be closed. At present Andhra Pradesh has only two days of stock Left. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has appealed to the central government for immediate coal supply. Kerala The southern state is witnessing a shortage of 120 to 200 MW power in the peak hours. Mathrubhumi reported that Kerala is getting electricity from 27 thermal power plants outside the state. Out of this, power production was halted in three plants. Amit Shah’s review On Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met Power Minister RK Singh and Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi amid the ongoing coal shortage crisis at power plants. In an hour-long meeting, the three were believed to have discussed the availability of coal to power plants and the current power demands. It has been revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be reviewing the coal supply situation in the country today. Black all over? And it’s not just India facing coal shortages. China, too, is also experiencing power shortages owing to the crisis. China’s Liaoning province issued its second-highest level power shortage alert on Monday, the fifth in two weeks, warning the shortfall could reach nearly 5 gigawatts (GW). With inputs from agencies