Capital could face power crisis due to coal shortage: Jain

NEW DELHI: The national Capital may face a power crisis as the coal reserves with the Dadri I and II power stations have diminished, Delhi Power Minister Satyendra Jain said on Friday.

In a letter to Union Power Minister RK Singh, Jain said the declared capacity of the power station has come down to 934 MW from 1,696 MW.

"The coal availability there will not last even for a day at full capacity," he said.

"The imminent likelihood of shutdown of the thermal power units at Dadri will have an adverse impact on the power supply to Delhi and would cause serious discomfort to the citizens in the hot and humid weather," Jain wrote to Singh.

"Your kind intervention in the matter led to augmentation of coal stocks for a while," Jain wrote to the Union Minister on Friday, adding that the stock position at Dadri has decreased fast over the past four days.

"Since June 19, the coal stock is continuously declining and has reached approximate 65,000 MT on Wednesday, which is only one-and-a-half days' requirement," Jain wrote adding that the "situation is extremely critical.

Due to onset of monsoon, Delhi's peak power demand came down to nearly 6,442 mega watt from the previous high of 7,016 MW. Jain requested Singh to intervene and resolve the crisis.

In an earlier letter, dated June 27, Jain had informed Singh about the shortage of coal supply to the power plants at Dadri, Jhajjar and Badarpur.