Power minister Goyal assures ‘no blackout like situation’

As per latest CEA (Central Electricity Authority) report, as many as 20 power stations in the country have fuel stocks to last less than four days.

‘This is a national problem, everybody is aware of, the plant(s) will not back down... making adequate arrangements for coal,’ Goyal told reporters when asked whether the coal situation could lead to a blackout in the northern region.

CEA data also showed that 38 power stations have less than seven days stock. In the northern region — Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan — 6 power stations have less than seven days stock, of which 3 have less than four days fuel.

In the western states of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, 16 power plants have less than a week stock, of which 10 plants are left with less than four days coal.

As many as 9 power stations in the southern region — Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala — reported less than seven days fuel, of which three recorded less than four days stock.

Seven power projects in the eastern states — Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand — had less than seven days coal stock, of which four plants had less than four days fuel.

Meanwhile, Goyal today also met the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.