DNA Edit: After Oil, It’s Coal - Power crisis can affect government’s political capital

Energy is a determinant of a country’s development. India’s energy crisis shows that the government has failed to address a long-standing problem.

With oil prices roiling, and coal in short supply, the effects on consumers and industry couldn’t be overstated. These, in turn, will have an impact on the polity. With assembly elections round the corner and the Lok Sabha polls only a few months ahead, the crisis might induce a major political cost for the government.

Since oil price volatility has been going on for a while, the government should have taken extra measures to ensure smooth supply of coal. Instead, it had allowed a systemic problem to fester.

“Bottlenecks in railways transportation” affecting thermal power generation isn’t a new phenomenon. Earlier this year, the State-owned Coal India, the world’s second-biggest coal miner by production, was grappling with a shortage of trains to carry the fuel from its mines to the country’s power plants.

The need to strengthen the railway network is not only urgent but growing fast. In the coming years, India’s energy demands are going to grow by leaps and bounds, especially with increased rural electrification. About 80 per cent of India’s coal production comes from a concentrated region of central-eastern India.

Given that coal transportation often forms a prohibitive part of the delivered price, finding a suitable linkage for the power plants remains a huge challenge. This year is likely to trigger more crisis because of lack of hydel power in the wake of deficit rains.

India needs to look at long-term solutions and progressively veer towards renewables. India needs to look at solar and wind power, given the country’s long coast line.