Less than a day’s worth of coal left in some power plants: Satyendar Jain 

Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain said that some power plants have less than a day’s worth of coal stock left. This comes after the Delhi government warned of power shortage in hospitals and Delhi Metro.  

“There is no backup for electricity. Electricity can’t be stored. It is produced every day. Coal is stored. In normal circumstances, the coal stock should be around 21 days. There are many power plants that are left with one day of coal stock," he said. 

When a reporter asked how much coal is left in stock at Dadri and Unchahar plants, he said nearly one day.  

He said power plants need to have coal stock of 21 days, and even if not 21 days, then at least 14 days or even 7 days. He said it doesn’t work with one day’s worth of coal stock.  

Jain also requested the government to ensure availability of coal stock.  

He added that the coal crisis is due to the lack of railway rakes and asked the government for better coordination.  

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also tweeted on power shortage. "There is a huge shortage of power in the country. So far we have managed it somehow in Delhi. The situation is very grave in the whole of India. Together we soon need to find a solution. Quick, concrete steps are required to tackle this problem," he said. 

On Thursday, the Delhi government issued a notification saying there may be disruption in 24-hour power supply to many essential units, including Delhi Metro and hospitals. The problem arose due to disruption of power supply from the Dadri-National Capital Power Station and Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Plant, the notification added.  

Dadri-II, Unchahar, Kahalgaon, Farakka and Jhajjar Power plants supply 1,751 MW of electricity per day to Delhi. Delhi gets the maximum supply allocation of 728 MW from Dadri-II Power Station, while 100 MW is supplied from Unchahar Power Station. 

Also read: Heat wave and power cuts spell nightmare for Indians