Power Minister RK Singh has demanded more coal production to meet the increasing demand for electricity.
Amid rising power consumption, which has led to an increase in the demand for coal, Power Minister RK Singh on Tuesday said there is a need to increase the production of dry fuel in the country.
Addressing a press conference, the minister said that the demand for electricity is increasing on a daily basis, adding that on an average it is around 40,000 MW to 45,000 MW more than the normal demand during the same period last year.
The Power Minister told media persons that Coal India has increased production but not to the required level, hence the stock of dry fuel is falling.
“As on April 1, 2022, the reserve coal reserves were 24 million tonnes, but on May 31, it came down to 18.5 million tonnes. Now it has come down further to 20 million tonnes,” Singh said.
He said that most of the states facing coal shortage have now started importing the dry fuel.
Electricity demand has been fueled by an unprecedented heat wave, which has led to higher consumption.
However, the supply of coal is continuously dwindling, power plants are not able to meet the increasing demand, leading to an energy crisis like situation in the country.
According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data as on June 6, 2022, 17 out of 165 thermal power plants across the country have coal stocks of 5 per cent or less than the required standard quantity.
In addition, all 165 thermal stations have less than a third of the standard coal stock left.