According to Ganesh Srinivasan, CEO of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), Delhi may experience sporadic rotational load shedding in the coming days. According to him, the country’s coal shortfall has resulted in lower electricity generation. TPDDL, which serves electricity to parts of north and north west Delhi, has begun sending SMS messages to its consumers urging them to conserve energy.
Coal shortages around the country have resulted in lower coal-fired electricity generation, according to Srinivasan. In Delhi, 64 non-pithead power plants are running on less than four days’ worth of dry fuel. The discoms provide electricity to a large portion of the national capital.
As of October 3, 25 power plants had coal supplies for less than seven days. There were no coal supplies at 17 facilities with a total installed power generating capacity of 21,325 MW. One day of dry fuel stocks was available at 20 power reactors with a combined capacity of 22,550 MW.
According to Srinivasan, the lack of coal has resulted in a “exponential surge” in power costs on power exchanges. He noted that there is restricted power availability on the power exchanges because the problem is affecting India as a whole and could affect Delhi.