No wagons to bring coal, Delhi in dark, Satyendar Jain seeks Railways Minister help

With the national Capital reeling under frequent power outages due to a shortage of electricity, Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain has knocked on the doors of the central government, seeking immediate help to restore uninterrupted power supply.

The maximum load on Friday was 6,008 megawatt (MW) and the minimum load recorded was 3,875 MW. On Thursday, the maximum load was 6,029 MW and the minimum was 3,728 MW.

In a letter to Union Minister of Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal, Jain stated that there is a crisis-like situation in Delhi over power outages and sought the minister's "help for smooth supply of coal to the three thermal power plants in the national capital region to generate power.

"As you are aware, the peak summer season has started and Delhi experiences very high demand for power during this time. This year, the demand is expected to be for around 7,000 MW."

Jain stated that the three coal-based power generating stations — Dadri I and II and Badarpur Thermal Power Plant — are facing coal shortage, with some of them left with stocks to last for two more days, and that the shortage was due to the non-availability of transportation rakes and wagon with the Railways.

"With rising temperatures and increasing power demand, the coal stocks position is very alarming and needs immediate attention in order to avoid load-shedding or any major grid incidents," he stressed.

Jain further urged Goyal to "intervene and resolve this crisis-like situation at the earliest" in the interest of the residents of Delhi as well as the power sector.

As per Delhi Transco Ltd (DTL), Dadri Thermal Plant I produces 554 MW, Dadri Thermal Plant II produces 464 MW and Badarpur Thermal Power Plant generates 310 MW.

Meanwhile, three power distribution companies in Delhi — BYPL, BRPL and TPDDL — have made arrangements to prevent power outages due to their fault. However, due to a shortage in power supply, the distribution companies have started load-shedding.

Earlier this month, Jain cited that power cuts were due to the poor state of power plants maintained by discoms. He, however, announced that consumers would be compensated for outages of more than two hours and stated that the government had asked the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to penalise the discoms for power cuts beyond two hours.