BENGALURU: Energy Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday briefed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the power shortage situation in the state owing to short supply of coal to Karnataka’s thermal power stations. While the situation does not warrant load-shedding yet, there is a possibility of it happening in the near future if the shortage of coal persists, sources said.
Currently, the four thermal power stations run by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) are operating on a zero day reserve basis with the stockpile of coal having been exhausted due to various factors. Unit 2 of Ballari Thermal Power Station, with a capacity of 500 MW, has been shut since November 1.
The coal shortage is a result of decreased hydel power generation last year which led to increased reliance on thermal power stations, eating into the reserves. The increase in production capacity by around 2,300 MW with the commissioning of two units at Yermarus and Ballari also added to the pressure. KPCL requires around 12 train loads of coal every day almost 75% of which comes from Singareni Collieries Company Ltd in Telangana. However, only 8 train loads are reaching KPCL presently, leading to some units having to be shut down due to non-availability of coal.
A few days back, the city witnessed power cuts for a day as generation had to be stopped at a few units of major thermal power stations since coal was not available. However, an immediate purchase of power from the energy exchange mitigated the situation. But the situation may recur in the near future if immediate arrangements are not made to stockpile coal, sources said.
Speaking to Express, KPCL Managing Director G Kumar Naik said they hope to get more coal as SCCL and Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) increase their production. “Till now, owing to the rains, the coal production was lesser than normal. However, the demand is steadily rising and production must be ramped up accordingly. For KPCL, 15 days of coal stocks will be the ideal levels to maintain.”
The situation is the same in other states as well as the import of coal for power plants is being actively discouraged by the Union government. While power generating stations have been given absolute priority over coal reserves, this has not reflected in the allocation for Karnataka, sources in the government said.