JAIPUR: Politics over power outages due to an alleged shortage of coal supply intensified in Rajasthan on Friday as the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP leaders exchanged barbs over the issue.
Terming power outage a "national crisis", Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed concern over the alleged shortage of coal supply in the country amid the increase in electricity demand during summer.
He said the power demand has increased in 16 states due to the rising mercury levels while no adequate quantity of coal is being supplied and it is affecting the power generation.
"This is a national crisis. I appeal to everyone to unite in this crisis and support the government in improving the situation. Turn off non-essential electrical appliances at your home or workplace. Set your priorities and use electricity in accordance with your need," Gehlot said in a tweet in Hindi.
He also condemned the Rajasthan unit of the BJP for putting pressure on the employees of the power distribution companies by staging protests as the BJP on Friday held protests across the state outside electricity offices.
"In Rajasthan, the BJP is putting pressure on the electricity department employees who are doing their work in a challenging atmosphere amid the power crisis, by staging demonstrations," the veteran Congress leader said.
"It is the Centre's job to provide coal to states. Will the directionless state BJP leadership ask the Centre why is it not able to provide coal in accordance with the demand, due to which there has been a crisis in 16 states?" he asked.
Soon after his remarks, BJP state president Satish Poonia said Gehlot was trying to blame the Centre and the BJP for his failure to manage the power crisis.
"I think the power crisis surfaced in Rajasthan due to the state government's failure to manage it but the chief minister wants to blame the Centre and the BJP," he said.
He said the DIPR letter dated April 24 had stated that there is no shortage of coal in Rajasthan. The letter exposes the words and deeds of the chief minister, he said.
The students in the state are suffering from power cuts during the exam season and common people, farmers and traders of the state are suffering in this scorching heat.
Deputy leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore also held a press conference on the issue and accused the state government of being responsible for the power crisis in the state.
He said Chief Minister Gehlot should take cognisance of the severe crisis instead of blaming the BJP for pressurising power department employees through its protests.
"The chief minister in his budget speech had announced slabs for a rebate in electricity bill and promised that farmers will get electricity during day time but if there is no electricity, how will the people be benefitted," Rathore said.
He said the state's power distribution companies are facing a loss of Rs 90,000 crore which is a matter of concern.
On the other hand, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra said how can Rajasthan be accused of mismanagement when 16 states were suffering from power outages due to the lack of adequate coal supply by the Centre.
"It seems there is a conspiracy to benefit some capitalist people. It is the Centre's responsibility to provide coal to the states. Out of 173 plants in the country, 106 plants have either 10 to 15 per cent coal or have exhausted their fuel," he said.
Dotasara said it has become the BJP's habit to put the onus on the states, ignoring the Centre's faulty policies whether it be on the Covid management or the inflation.
He said the BJP only knows how to pitch brother against brother and cause religious polarisation to harvest votes.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government on Friday flagged an "acute shortage" of coal, claiming many power plants are left with a day's stock and warning supply disruptions in the city while Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the situation was being handled somehow.
The chief minister called for quick and concrete steps to tackle the crisis facing the country.
Talking to reporters, Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain said there is an "acute shortage" of coal due to the unavailability of an adequate number of railway rakes and warned there may be "difficulty" in electricity supply if power plants are shut.
Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) held an emergency meeting with various power agencies and announced various steps to mitigate the situation.
In a reply to the Delhi government's coal shortage claims, the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) said in a tweet that currently the Unchahar and Dadri power stations, supplying electricity to the national capital, are running at full capacity and receiving "regular" coal supplies.
"All six units of Dadri and five units of Unchahar are running at full capacity and receiving regular coal supplies.
Present stock is 1,40,000 MT and 95,000 MT respectively and import coal supplies are also in pipeline, NTPC tweeted.
However, Kejriwal claimed the power situation in the whole of India is very grave.
"There is a huge shortage of power in the country. So far we have managed it somehow in Delhi. The situation is very grave in the whole of India. Together, we soon need to find a solution.
Quick, concrete steps are required to tackle this problem," he tweeted.
The NTPC, in another tweet, said, "Currently Unchahar and Dadri stations are declaring more than 100 per cent rated capacity to the grid.
All units of Unchahar and Dadri are running at full load except Unchahar unit one, which is under annual planned overhaul.
" Amid a deepening coal shortage, the Delhi government on Thursday had warned that there may be a problem in providing an uninterrupted electricity supply to important establishments in the city, including Metro trains and hospitals.
The DERC, after a meeting with discoms and other agencies, said, "Power crisis expected to be arising out of current coal shortage and spurt in short-term power prices.
"To mitigate power crisis and safeguard the interest of consumers and distribution licensees, DERC, as an interim measure, allowed intra-discom banking facility, overlapping of banking and bilateral transactions, pass-through of additional deviation and sustain deviation charges with immediate effect. The interim measures will remain in effect till July 31," the DERC statement said.
Jain said the main reason for the "huge shortage" of coal was the lack of an adequate number of railway rakes.
Instead of increasing the number of railway rakes, it has been reduced from 450 to 405, he said.
The minister also claimed that power plants, including Dadri and Uchahar, had only a day's stock of coal that usually should be for 21 days.
He also denied any pending payments of Delhi to the Centre for coal supply.
Jain had held an emergency meeting to assess the situation and wrote to the Centre requesting it to ensure adequate coal availability to power plants supplying electricity to Delhi.
Sources said the Delhi government may scale up electricity generation at its gas-based power plant with a 1,500 MW capacity.
However, the cost of gas could be a restrictive factor in doing so, they said.
Delhi receives 1,751 MW of power each day from Dadri-II, Unchahar, Kahalgaon, Farakka and Jhajjar plants.
It gets the maximum supply of 728 MW from the Dadri-II power station, and 100 MW from the Unchahar station, the Delhi government had said earlier.
The peak power demand of Delhi has been shooting up with maximum temperature reaching record levels.
The city's power demand peaked at 6,050 MW at 11. 17 PM on Thursday.
Discoms expect the peak power demand of Delhi to be around 8,200 MW in the coming months.