There Would Be No Power Cuts Due to Coal Shortage: Coal minister Pralhad Joshi

Coal minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday assured that there would be no power cuts in the country from now onwards due to coal shortage. The statement comes weeks after low stock at power plants crippling country’s power generation.

Replying to a question during ‘TV9 What India Thinks Today Global Summit’, the minister said, “I can fully assure that it won’t happen.” The minister said that as on date the thermal power plants have average coal stock of almost 12 days. Besides, he said, there is also coal stock of around 50-55 million tonnes.

On recent reports on coal shortages, the minister said that no part of the country faced power cuts due to fuel shortage. He added there was a coal stock of four-five days at thermal power plants but the environment was created that after four to five days it will become totally dark.

Stating that there is replenishment of coal stock on day-to-day basis and coal is being continuously sent to the plants. “The impression was being created that it was going to be dark,” Joshi explained.

The minister further said that Coal India — which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output — is importing coal as a precautionary measure to tide over the crisis which may erupt due to waterlogging in the mines during monsoons. The coal ministry said in a statement today that the government has initiated a number of reforms to further increase the production of coal to meet the growing energy demands of the nation.

Virtually releasing ‘Reforms & Achievements of Ministry of Coal Since 2014’ that highlights the major achievements of the ministry during the last eight years, Joshi said that a number of path-breaking reforms have been undertaken to provide further fillip to overall coal production and offtake. Coal secretary Anil Kumar Jain said that all efforts are on to double the production of coking coal domestically.

Despite fast escalating demand, the ministry of coal has taken a number of initiatives to make available coal at stable prices, he added.

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