Coal Shortage: Supply concerns will be eased this week assures Coal Minister

Coal shortage: The government has moved into damage control as worries of blackouts and load shedding grab headline. The coal ministry issued a statement assuring that distribution and not the actual availability of coal was the problem that was getting resolved. The ministry stated "any fear of disruption in power supply is entirely misplaced".

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Addressing the concern that over 80 coal based power plants had 'critical' levels of coal (less that 7 days) the Coal Ministry stated that supply which was disrupted due to heavy rains in mining area is expected to pick up significantly in October. As per the statement,"The present coal supply to power sector is more than 14 lakh tonnes per day and with the receding rains, this supply has already increased to 15 lakh tonnes and is set to increase to more than 16 lakh tonnes per day by the end of October 2021".

As Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal continues to allege that the centre is witholding supply, the Coal Ministry retorted that Delhi will get as much as power as requisitioned by them as per their demand. To meet Delhi's growing demand the Ministry has directed NTPC and GAIL to give full availability. The minister however warned that if any discom is found to resort to load shedding despite being power available, action would be initiated against them.