Centre asked NTPC to cap production capacity of all its plants to half, alleges Satyendar Jain
Oct 12, 2021
New Delhi [India], October 12 : Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday alleged that the Centre has asked NTPC to cap the production capacity of all its plants to half.
Speaking to ANI regarding power shortage, Delhi Power Minister said, "There is no coal power plant in Delhi. We buy electricity from coal plants situated in other states. NTPC capped the production capacity of all its plants to half. There can be two reasons, first coal shortage or secondly centre has told them to do it."
He further said that Delhi is currently getting only half the supply and if it is stopped then a blackout might happen.
"Blackout depends upon them, right now they are giving only half supply if they stopped giving it then blackout might happen," said Satyendar Jain.
Earlier today, the Ministry of Power requested all states and Union Territories to use unallocated power only to supply electricity to its consumers in the state and not impose load shedding or sell it in power exchanges at higher prices.
This came amid reports of possible power disruptions in some states due to coal shortages.
As per the guidelines for allocation of power, 15 per cent of power from the Central Generating Stations (CGS) is kept under "unallocated power", which is allocated by the Central Government to the needy states to meet the requirement of power of the consumers.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a high-level meeting with Power Minister RK Singh, Coal Minister Prahlad Patel along with top officials of both the ministries in the North Block on Tuesday.
The high-level meeting was convened a day after the Union Power Minister assured that the supply stock of coal to power plants has exceeded consumption, adding that it will help in improving the fuel stock position gradually.
Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi has also denied allegations of power failure due to a shortage of coal.
The Power Ministry asserted that the Inter-Ministerial sub-group has been monitoring the status of coal reserves twice a week.
Some Chief Ministers from across the country have flagged the power crisis that might arise in their respective states due to coal shortage in power generation plants. These states include Delhi, Punjab and Chhattisgarh.
