Satyendar Jain seeks more coal for power plants to overcome power crisis

"Power plants should ideally have a surplus coal of 21 days, but at present only 1 day of coal is left in the power plants. Delhi is supplied with electricity from many nearby plants, among which the Dadri power plant is the top supplier. None of these power plants have enough coal to generate electricity at this point," Jain said.

New Delhi: Energy Minister of Delhi Government Satyendar Jain on Friday said that there is no power backup for electricity in the national capital, while only one day of coal is left in the power plants in Delhi. Speaking to reporters after a program here, Jain also demanded the Delhi government to make some coal available for the power plants here as the coal crisis seems to be engulfing the entire nation.

"Power plants should ideally have a surplus coal of 21 days, but at present only 1 day of coal is left in the power plants. Delhi is supplied with electricity from many nearby plants, among which the Dadri power plant is the top supplier. None of these power plants have enough coal to generate electricity at this point. We have also written a letter to the central government regarding this," Jain said, further proposing coal supply from other mines in the country.

The minister also took a dig at the railway authorities while speaking, highlighting their shortcomings. "Instead of increasing the rakes, the railway authorities have reduced them. This is further obstructing the smooth supply to the power units," he added. As per Delhi government's data, other power plants that Delhi leans on for electricity supply, are out of coal. The Unchahar power plant has two days' worth of stock left, Kahalgaon has 3.5 days' worth of stock left and Farakka has five days' worth of stock left.

Meanwhile, the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) denied Delhi government's coal shortage claims, clarifying that Dadri and Unchahar power plants are running at full capacity and receiving regular coal supplies.