As Delhi stares at a power crisis, like several other states in the country, the city-state’s power minister Satyendar Jain on Friday raised an alarm. “No (power) backup… backup should be that of coal of over 21 days, but at many power plants, less than a day’s (stock of) coal (is) left,” Jain said at a press briefing, a day after he held an emergency meeting over the issue. The minister pointed out that Delhi “cannot function on a day’s backup.” His remarks come as the national capital is facing a brutal spell of heatwave, which has led to an increase in power consumption.
“If electricity is being produced, and we keep getting it, there’s no issue. But if the power plant shuts down it’ll be problematic (in Delhi)…There’s a coal shortage in the country… it should’ve 21-day coal backup, but at many power plants coal is left for less than a day,” the minister further told reporters.
Satyendar Jain’s comments come a day after the Delhi government warned of possible challenges in providing an uninterrupted electricity supply for essential services, including Metro trains and hospitals.
