Bhubaneswar:Amid power crisis in several States due to low coal supply, Chief Secretary SC Mahapatra on Saturday said Odisha don’t have any issue with coal supply to power plants so far.
Speaking to reporters here, Mr.Mahapatra said There is no coal crisis in Odisha like other States where power supply is being snapped for 10/12 hours per day due to shortage of coal. Because we have coal mines in the State.”
MCL has been directed to supply adequate quantities of coal to all power plants in the State, he said.
“I have instructed CMD of MCL to ensure proper supply of coal to the power plants in Odisha,” added the Chief Secretary.
States like Delhi and Punjab are facing acute power outages with their thermal plants heading to either facing deficiency of coal or hitting by a snag owing to increase in load capacity.
Though Odisha is also facing power crisis but it is not due to coal shortage. The sudden outage in an 800-megawatt (MW) capacity unit at NTPC’s Darlipali plant in Sundergarh district has led to the power crisis in Odisha as it used to get 400 MW from the unit.
Besides, the peak power demand has gone up by almost 10 percent due to the hot weather conditions, said official sources in the Energy Department.
Now, the State’s peak hour power demand (from 7 PM till 11 PM) has been estimated at 4,000 to 4,400 MW and there is a shortfall of 450 MW.