Low coal stocks at thermal plants in Punjab threaten electricity supply
Aman Sood
Patiala, February 15
Nearly two months after the coal mine at Pachhwara in Jharkhand became operational, barring a private thermal plant in Punjab, all others are facing an acute shortage of coal, despite low power demand in the state. Punjab plans to stock 20 days of coal per thermal plant by March 31, but the slow movement of coal is worrisome.
Stocks at the thermal plants in the state are in a critical condition except with Nabha Power Limited, a Rajpura-based thermal plant, which has the maximum coal stock. Inventories normally accumulate from November to March and deplete from June to September during the paddy season.
Transportation issues to blame
Excess demand due to less rain and availability of limited solar power means more coal is needed to run thermal plants. Punjab needs 20 rakes of coal daily and due to transportation issues, there are hindrances. —PSPCL official
The coal stock at the Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar thermal plants is sufficient for 3.2 days and 5.9 days, respectively. The stock at Talwandi Sabo and GVK is sufficient for 5.1 days and 6.4 days, respectively, and at Rajpura for 26.9 days.
The maximum power demand in the state on Tuesday was 7,951 MW with a supply of 1,445 lakh units. One unit each at Ropar and Rajpura are under annual maintenance, while one unit at Lehra Mohabbatt is in a state of breakdown since May 13, 2022, and may not be ready during the paddy season.
One unit at Talwandi Sabo and one unit of Ropar, which are also experiencing a breakdown due to boiler problems, are likely to be revived within two days.
On February 9, the Power Ministry again asked all state governments and private generators to “blend coal with imported coal by 6 per cent” in view of the increase in the demand for power during the first six months of the 2023-24 fiscal. “Coal production in the country has increased by 15.2 per cent in the current financial year over last year,” said All India Power Engineers Federation spokesperson VK Gupta.
“Another directive of the Centre to Punjab to use the rail-sea-rail (RSR) mode for transporting coal from the Mahanadi and Talchar coalfields in Odisha to Punjab via Mundra in Gujarat will increase the transportation time from five to 25 days,” he said.
Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO said there was no shortage of coal and Punjab would replenish its coal stock ahead of the paddy season. “There could be temporary hiccups due to transportation, but we will have sufficient coal in the coming weeks,” he said.
On December 16, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann received the first rake of coal at Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant and claimed that “Punjab is now a coal surplus state” as coal from the Pachwara mine in Jharkhand will be sufficient to meet the requirements for the next 30 years. He said the state government started mining coal from Pachhwara from December 12 and the target was to ship 25 lakh metric tonnes of coal to Punjab till March 2023.
A senior Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSCPL) official, privy to the coal issue, said 1.5 lakh tonnes of coal had been received from Pachhwara so far. “Excess power demand due too less rain during the winter this season, 300 free units for domestic consumers and availability of less solar power means more coal is needed to run the thermal plants. Punjab needs 20 rakes of coal daily and due to transportation issues, there are hindrances,” he said.
Allotted in 2001, the supply from Pachhwara started in March 2006, only to be suspended after eight years in 2014.
