On coal shortage, NTPC counters Delhi government

New Delhi, Apr 29: The NTPC has countered the claim the Delhi government made that the Dadri-II and Unchahar power plants had coal stocks only up to for two days. Both are running at full capacity, the NTPC said.

"Currently Unchahar and Dadri stations are declaring more than 100% rated capacity to the grid. All units of Unchahar and Dadri are running at full load except Unchahar Unit 1, which is under annual planned overhaul" the NTPC said.

"All six units of Dadri and five units of Unchahar are running at full capacity and receiving regular coal supplies. Present stock is 140000 MT and 95000 MT respectively and import coal supplies are also in pipeline," the NTPC said in a statement.

Delhi government has warned of a possible setback in providing uninterrupted electricity supply to important establishments in the capital, including Metro trains and hospitals.

The situation in entire India is dire. We have to collectively come up with a solution soon. Solid steps are immediately needed to resolve this situation" Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi said in aa tweet.

Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain held an emergency meeting to assess the situation and wrote to the Centre requesting it to ensure adequate coal availability to power plants that supply electricity to the national capital, news agency PTI reported. He said that there is less than a day of coal which can cause blackouts and lead to interruptions in crucial services such as metro and government hospitals.

"Due to disruption of power supply from Dadri-II and Unchahar power stations, there may be a problem in 24-hours power supply to many essential institutions, including Delhi Metro and Delhi government hospitals," a government statement read.

Presently, 25-30 per cent of the electricity demand in Delhi is being met through these power stations, and they face a shortage of coal, Jain said.