Power situation in Delhi “very serious” says Satyendar Jain

Parts of the Capital record almost 46 degrees Celsius on Friday

As heatwave continued to grip the Capital, with the maximum temperature settling five degrees above the normal at 43.5 degrees Celsius, Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain appealed to the Centre to ensure a continuous supply of coal. 

“The situation in Delhi is serious. All the power plants that provide electricity to Delhi have only one day of coal left. At present, depending on the supply, we are left with only the next day’s coal,” Mr. Jain said. 

He added that more than 21 days of backup is the norm in all power plants and that under any circumstance, there must be at least seven days of coal storage so that the power plants could operate at their full capacity.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed concern over the shortage of coal reserves in power plants across the country. Through a tweet on Friday morning, he said, “The entire country is witnessing disruptions in power. Till now, in Delhi, we have somehow managed the situation. But the situation in India is very concerning. We all will have to take steps together to resolve this issue. We need to take immediate, strong measures to deal with this situation.”

Reacting to Mr. Kejriwal’s comment, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said the Delhi government was spreading rumours about coal shortage just as it had done earlier as well.

“Using the shortage of coal supply as a pretext, the State government is pinning the blame on the Centre to hide its own shortcomings. The railway ministry has already provided 415 trains to supply coal, in which each train has the capacity to carry 3,500 tonnes of coal,” Mr. Gupta said.

He asked if there were just one or two days of coal stocks left in power plants supplying electricity to Delhi, then why did the Delhi government not take corrective steps earlier.