Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday that the thermal power plants (TPPs) have 21-22 million tonnes of coal which will last for 10 days.
“The thermal power plants hold 21-22 million tonnes of coal which are enough for 10 days and replenishment is done daily,” Joshi said.
Due to severe heatwave across the country, power demand has gone up rapidly in recent days.
The Power Ministry said on April 26: “The maximum all-India power demand met is 201.066 GW at 14:51 hours. It has surpassed last year’s maximum demand met of 200.539 GW which occurred on July 7. The rising power demand reflects the economic growth of the country.”
The minister reviewed mining operations and coal offtake from eastern coal fields and appreciated the hard work of coal miners to fulfil energy demands of the nation, and urged them to further scale up production and dispatch.
“In a review meeting with CMD of @CCLRanchi and other senior officials. Carried out detailed discussion on further increasing coal production and offtake from CCL. Also worked out ways to free land from all encumbrances, with the help of State administration,” Joshi tweeted.
The government had said on Wednesday that there is appropriate amount of coal stock in the country and there is no need to panic.
Joshi said: “The country has enough coal stock. The thermal power plants have more than nine days’ coal stock, and the situation is reviewed each day.”
He said the coal stocks are sufficient in the country and there is no need to panic.
On Monday, Power Minister R.K. Singh and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had held a meeting to discuss short-term and long-term strategies for dealing with the situation.
Singh had urged all the stakeholders to work together for unhindered power supply.
The issues discussed at the meeting included increasing operational efficiency for loading and unloading of coal, increasing percentage of rakes allotment for power sector, and other logistical issues.
