WORK ON A WAR FOOTING

This is in reference to the news report, “POWER CRISIS WORSENS”. There is an acute shortage of power, gripping the country this summer. Many cities and states, especially in north-west and central India, are reporting frequent electricity breakdowns as they struggle to meet high demand. Many factors are contributing to the crisis. As Covid has receded, economic activity has resumed and is back in full swing, but the electricity distribution companies are not able to meet the demand. The intense heatwave condition has only added to the woes with India suffering the hottest April in 122 years. Demand for power has thus spiked nine per cent last month; and in May it is expected to increase another 10 per cent, as summer intensifies. One of the major reasons for power generation not keeping pace with demand is the acute shortage of coal. Stocks are critically low in 108 of the 173 thermal power plants. Coal still accounts for nearly 75 per cent of India’s power output. India’s biggest coal suppliers, Coal India and Singareni Collieries, have been producing five per cent more than they did in 2021, but this is still not meeting plant demand. The Railways has had to cancel more than 650 passenger trains till the end of May to clear the tracks for coal cargo to be rushed to power plants. The problem needs to be addressed quickly. Not only has normal life been disrupted with outages, industrial production too is being affected. In the near-term, the crisis could have been avoided by importing coal. However, cash-strapped power companies, hit by Covid losses, dragged their feet, and have been avoiding coal imports at prices that have gone up dramatically since the Ukraine war. In the longer-run, diversification of power generation away from fossil fuels like coal is the answer. But little has been done to develop optimum, alternative sources like wind and solar power till now.

— KHOKAN DAS, KOLKATA via email