VIJAYAPURA: The countrywide coal shortage has affected power generation at the 2,400 MW-capacity National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant in Kudgi. “The Kudgi plant has not enough stock of coal left. It is like a hand-to-mouth situation as we are using up the coal to generate electricity as soon as the stock arrives,” an NTPC official said. The official said the plant earlier received 8-10 coal rakes each day. “But now we are getting just 5 rakes. To operate at full capacity, we need between 10,000 and 20,000 tonnes of coal daily,” the official said.
“We don’t know when we will start receiving adequate coal. We may have to shut down the plant if we do not get enough supply in the coming days,” said another official. Of the three units, one unit has been shut for maintenance. “The demand for thermal power has surged in recent weeks. Wind speed has come down and rains have stopped because of which hydro-power generation has substantially reduced. Amid the coal shortage, we are generating 1,000 MW of electricity during the day and during peak hours, the production goes up to 1,500 MW. The full capacity of the two operating units is 1,600 MW,’’ said an official.