Power cuts due to coal shortage in India, Coal produces 77 percent of electricity in nation

Lightbulbs on Gray Background: Power cuts due to coal shortage in India
Lightbulbs on Gray Background (Image: Canva)

In April 2022, there is a power cut in about 12 states of India. Most of the electricity in India is based on coal. At present, there is a coal crisis, due to which Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and 10 states of India are facing power cuts.

India imports 15 percent of the country’s coal while the role of coal in the generation of electricity in India is 77 percent.

More than half of India’s 135 coal-fired power plants are running short of fuel. While around 66,534.31 megawatts of capacity were shut down in the early days of April 2022.

But more units have been closed due to a shortage of coal and one-fourth of India’s power generation capacity is shut mainly due to lack of fuel. While the current capacity of electricity generation in India is 3.99 lakh MW.

Power crisis in India

According to reports, due to the sudden increased demand and lack of supply, a power crisis has arisen in 12 states of India. The Unchahar, Farakka, Kahalgaon, Dadri-II, and Jhajjar power plants supply 1,751 megawatts of electricity per day to Delhi, but even these power plants have very little coal stock left.

Dadri-II power station supplies a maximum of 728 megawatts to Delhi, while 100 megawatts Unchahar station supplies.

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The Gujarat government said that industries should be closed once a week to meet its 500 megawatts shortfall.

In India, Jharkhand state is facing the highest power cut of 17.3% while Jharkhand holds an important place in the supply of coal all over India, while Andhra Pradesh is facing a power shortage from 55 million units to 60 million units.

Maharashtra has been facing a shortfall of over 3,000 megawatts since the early months of April 2022. Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut said that the state-run Mahagenco (Maharashtra State Power Generation Company) has set a target of generating 8000 MW of electricity.

The highest quality of coal in India, anthracite, and lignite mines are found in Jammu and Kashmir, there is also a power cut of 11.6%. Coal prices have more than doubled compared to FY22.

According to experts, coal shortage, geopolitical tension, lack of supply and rising temperatures are the main reasons for power cuts.

There are more than 1.7 lakh industrial units in Rajasthan but still 9.6% power cut is happening in Rajasthan. Rajasthan has 1.27 lakh small power units and 33,000 medium power units.

In Uttar Pradesh, 9.0%, Haryana 7.7%, Uttarakhand 7.6%, Bihar 3.7%, Maharashtra 3.5% and Gujarat 3.2% power cut is going on.

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At the beginning of Quarter 1 of Financial Year 2022-23, almost daily power demand across India increased to 194 GW from 187 GW in the previous quarter.

Due to the increase in heat in Rajasthan, the electricity demand has increased by 31%, due to which there is a power cut for 5 to 7 hours. In Punjab, due to the shortage of 8000 MW, there is a power cut for more than 2 hours.

In Himachal Pradesh also, there is a power cut of 4 to 6 hours in the industrial units. The electricity demand has increased, but the amount of coal required to supply coal is not available at this time.

Coal India Limited, one of the companies known to produce coal in India, said that it is supplying 16.4 lakh tonnes of coal daily to power plants but the demand has reached 22 lakh tonnes per day. That is, the supply of 5.6 lakh tonnes of coal is not being done based on demand.

Of the plants in India, 38826 MW capacity plants can generate power, but due to lack of coal, it is closed. Whereas 23503 MW capacity plants were already closed and the rest of 9745 MW plants have been closed till further notice.

India has 1.10 lakh MW of renewable energy while out of 2.89 lakh MW, 72074 MW capacity plants are closed.

According to the Ministry of Railways, 653 million tonnes of coal were supplied in 2021-22 as against 542 million tonnes last year. Railways says that in 2021-22, Indian Railways has increased the transport of coal through railways by a record 111 million tonnes and operated 20.4% more electricity than in 2020-21.

Indonesia is the largest coal supplier country in the world. Indonesia is also the world’s largest supplier of palm oil and has recently banned the export of palm oil. It accounts for more than 50% of the total oil imported by India.

China is the largest coal importing country in the world, India imports the second highest coal and Japan is the third-largest importer of coal.

The whole world imports 495 metric tonnes of coal, while India imports one-fourth of the total coal.

Indonesia exports the most coal in the world, about 455 million tonnes, Australia exports the second highest coal, about 393 million tonnes, and Russia exports the third-largest coal, about 217 million tonnes, according to the 2019 data.

China imports the highest coal in the world, about 298 million metric tonnes, India imports the second highest coal, about 247 million metric tonnes and Japan imports the third-highest coal, about 185 million metric tonnes, according to the data of 2019.

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According to the data of India’s Ministry of Coal, India imports 43% of coal from Indonesia, 26% from Australia, 6% from America, and about 11% from other countries like South Africa. In FY21, India imported about 215.25 million tonnes of coal.

In 2022, the Indian government is trying to reduce its coal imports to a great extent as India imported 173.32 million tonnes of coal in the year 2021-22 till January 2022. Whereas India has imported 215.25 million tonnes in 2020-21, 248.54 million tonnes in 2019-20, and 235.35 million tonnes in 2018-19 from other countries.

In India, coal stock in power plants reduced to 7.2 million tonnes on October 8, 2021, after which the country faced a coal crisis but increased domestic coal production, which reached 26.5 million tonnes in March 2022.

The largest hard coal producing country in the world is China, which produces about 3580 million metric tonnes, the second hard coal-producing country is India, with about 716.1 million metric tonnes and the third hard coal-producing country is Indonesia, with about 503.7 million metric tonnes, according to the data of 2020.

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The country with the largest number of coal-fired power plants in the world is China, which is about 946 GW, the USA at number two, which is about 286 GW and India at number three, which is about 253 GW.

The peak hour power demand in April 2018 to October 2018 grew the most on a year-on-year basis from FY94. And there was a demand of 172 GW in FY19 and it is expected to be 210 GW by FY23, according to experts.

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FAQs about Power crisis in India

Why is India facing power crisis?

According to experts, coal shortage, geopolitical tension, lack of supply and rising temperatures are the main reasons for power cuts.

How much coal does India import from other countries?

According to the data of India’s Ministry of Coal, India imports 43% of coal from Indonesia, 26% from Australia, 6% from America, and about 11% from other countries like South Africa. In FY21, India imported about 215.25 million tonnes of coal.

Where are the highest quality coal mines found in India?

The highest quality of coal in India, anthracite, and lignite mines are found in Jammu and Kashmir.

Which country is the largest hard coal producer in the world?

The largest hard coal producing country in the world is China, which produces about 3580 million metric tonnes.