The coal shortage felt globally has reached Indian shores. Several states, including Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Tamil Nadu, have raised concerns over the blackout as the supply is short, affecting power generation. A major reason is the decline in coal imports as international prices of this commodity have gone up. Back home, heavy rains last month damaged its mining, while a revival in economic activity has increased demand for electricity.
The use of high power speaks to our economic recovery, but it also reflects a lack of preparedness to deal with the lack of such key inputs. The ongoing scramble to divert domestic resources and make up for the coal shortage reflects poor contingency planning. Such reductions rarely happen suddenly. Information was available on global energy-sector trends and warnings have been issued in recent months of supply problems, some of which can be traced to more than just transient factors. In our mission-critical transition to clean energy, the global neglect of investment in carbon-rich energy sources such as coal, oil and gas means that conventional fuels could become costlier as we move forward. We should plan well.
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