Coal Shortage Hits NTPC Plants, Power Crisis Looms In Odisha & 6 States

Talcher: Odisha and six other states will face acute power crisis very soon. This is because power generation from two NTPC thermal plants has come down to a record low due to shortage of coal.

Sources said a 10-day-long strike by mine workers at MCL’s Talcher Coalfields has hit coal production, leading to shortage of supply to NTPC’s 3000 MW plant at Kaniha and 460 MW Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS).

Notably, workers at 10 coal mines have been on strike since July 25 to protest against the death of four fellow workers in a landslide at Bharatpur coalmine on July 23.

The sources said three out of the six units at the Kahina plant and five out of the six units at TTPS have been shut down due to short supply of coal, .

The present power generation at the Kaniha and TTPS plants are 900 MW and 76 MW, respectively.

The Kaniha plant requires 58,000 MT coal per day, the TTPS plant requires 9,000 MT coal daily for optimum power generation.

While NTPC has managed to run the plants by arranging coal from various other sources, the current situation may trigger acute shortage of power supply to seven states including Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and three states in the north-east.