Power utilities in the State are facing an acute shortage of coal to service the thermal power projects.
As against the requirement of at least 80,000 tonnes of coal every day, the State is able to get 55,000 tonnes as of now and officials are worried over the prospects if the supply situation worsens further. Senior officials of the A.P. Power Generation Corporation, who are working overtime to ensure supply of coal from conventional sources as well as outside, are keeping their fingers crossed over the availability of the fuel to meet the requirements.
According to officials, the 1,760 MW Dr. Narla Tatarao Thermal Power Station at Vijayawada required 30,000 tonnes of coal, 1,050 MW Rayalaseema Thermal Power Project 15,000 tonnes and the Krishnapatnam thermal power plant 20,000 tonnes on a daily basis to ensure generation at full capacity.
Alarmed over the situation, the State government has dashed of a letter to the Central government seeking allotment of 80,000 tonnes a day to meet the demand of the thermal power plants. The government, in its communication to the Union Coal Ministry, maintained that the State could generate 2,000 MW against the total installed capacity of over 3,000 MW due to shortage of coal.
While it was mandatory for the power utilities to keep a reserve of coal stock to meet the requirements for 15 days, the APGenco is presently holding stocks for less than three days. APGenco Managing Director K. Vijayanand told The Hindu that coal shortage was not confined to the State and it was impacting thermal power plants across the country. “It is just a hand to mouth existence for the APGenco as of now,” he said.
