Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Industry / Energy/  Blackouts widen as coal stocks drop at power plants
BackBack

Blackouts widen as coal stocks drop at power plants

The national peak shortage on 29 August expanded to more than 6% from the 3.9% average in July

Among the worst affected states are Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Several towns in Uttar Pradesh are blacked out for more than 10 hours a day. Photo: Hindustan TimesPremium
Among the worst affected states are Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Several towns in Uttar Pradesh are blacked out for more than 10 hours a day. Photo: Hindustan Times

New Delhi: Blackouts in India widened as inadequate coal supplies forced plants to shut down, after increased industrial activity and a monsoon deficit boosted electricity demand from factories and households.

The national peak shortage on Friday expanded to more than 6% from the 3.9% average in July, according to data from the Power Ministry and Power System Operation Corp., a unit of Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. Stocks at power stations run on local coal plunged. Equipment breakdowns or maintenance also caused other plants to be under shutdown, including ones operated by Tata Power Co. Ltd and Adani Power Ltd.

A surge in economic activity has led to higher demand for the fuel, exacerbating supply bottlenecks caused by heavy rains at some mines and slow railway transport in places. India’s economy grew at the fastest pace in more than two years, the Central Statistical Office said in a statement in New Delhi on Friday. Slow economic activity had caused coal stocks at power plants to swell last year.

“We are always vulnerable to coal shortages during this time of the year," said Prasad Baji, an analyst at Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd in Mumbai. “The vulnerability becomes more pronounced when demand for coal rises."

Among the worst affected states are Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous. Several towns in Uttar Pradesh, which shares a border with national capital New Delhi, are blacked out for more than 10 hours a day, forcing people to use diesel-fired back-up power that’s at least three times more expensive.

Rain delays

“Coal supplies at some of our plants have been affected due to rains in coal-mining regions," said Kulamani Biswal, finance director at state-run NTPC Ltd, India’s biggest power producer.

The company’s Vindhyachal plant in Madhya Pradesh has shut four units, aggregating a capacity of 1,420 megawatts, according to data from the power ministry’s Central Electricity Authority. Three of these units are shut because of coal shortages. Two other plants of the company that supply to the capital are shut, affecting a capacity of 775 MW.

India’s gross domestic product rose 5.7% in the three months ended June from a year earlier, the biggest gain since the quarter through March 2012.

Six-day supply

The Northern Region Load Dispatch Centre, which operates the northern power grid issued an alert on its website, saying there was high demand and reduced availability in the northern region.

Power plants had 8.89 million tonnes of coal as of 27 August, down almost 65% from a year ago. That stock is sufficient for six days, compared with the 21-day norm the Central Electricity Authority advises. Fifty-two power plants had less than seven days of stock, while 26 were running on less than four days supply.

“We have had problems due to rain the last week of July and first week of August, but our performance has picked up since," N. Kumar, technical director at Coal India Ltd, said by phone on Friday.

More than 55,500 MW of generation capacity is under outage, according to CEA data, which monitors performance of plants with a total capacity of 219,308 MW.

Tata Power on 28 August said it had shut down two 800 MW units at its 4,000 MW Mundra plant in Gujarat. Bloomberg

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Industry News, Banking News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 30 Aug 2014, 06:49 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Energy Stocks
₹1,824.250.53%
₹166.250.9%
₹516.82.34%
₹88.561.21%
₹330.651.6%
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App