Maharashtra is facing a power crisis as a result of a drop in generation due to a reduction in coal availability

Due to a lack of coal storage and a drop in coal delivery from Coal India and its subsidiaries, Maharashtra is facing load shedding and power outages. On Monday, Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut verified this. Lack of coal supplies is predicted to disrupt power generation and supply in Parali, Nashik, Paras, and Bhusawal. MahaGenco's power plants, which have a combined generation capacity of 3510 MW, have coal stock for 1.75 to 3 days. MahaGenco has a total capacity of 10170 MW of coal-fired power output.

 

The state administration is in frequent contact with Coal India and its subsidiaries to ensure that coal is available to avoid a power outage, especially during the summer and the ongoing 10th and 12th grade exams. "The drop in coal supply from Coal India and its subsidiaries is due to a significant scarcity of explosives, which is required for opencast mining," a State Energy Department Officer told the Free Press Journal.

 

The coal shortfall is not only affecting Maharashtra, but also other states. The MahaGenco is receiving 1.25 lakh to 1.30 lakh metric tonnes per day, compared to a daily requirement of 145,000 metric tonnes. "This is not withstanding MahaGenco's advance payment." He also stated that if the coal supply continues to be insufficient, the state may suffer a significant power shortage.

MahaGenco, on the other hand, intends to transfer more coal in-store to other power plants such as Koradi, Khaparkheda and Chandrapur. Because these facilities have a coal stock of 8 to 10 days, a portion of the coal will be transported to Paras, Parli, Nashik and Bhusawal through railway rakes to help alleviate the issue.

 

Furthermore, in the wake of rising temperatures, MahaVitaran, a state-run power distribution firm with a 3-crore customer base, has asked customers to conserve energy, particularly between the hours of 6 A.M. and 10 A.M. and 6 P.M. and 10 P.M. If the temperatures continue to rise as predicted by the Weather Department, MahaVitaran, which now meets a daily power demand of 24,000 to 25,000 MW in the state excluding Mumbai, has forecast that the power demand may exceed 25,000 MW. If power demand continues to rise and MahaGenco's plants continue to face generation cuts due to a lack of coal, MahaVitaran will take power from the power exchanges and central pool.

 

 

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