Coal scarcity threatens to blackout Karnataka

A severe scarcity of coal that has arisen in Karnataka is threatening to plunge the state into long hours of blackout.

With the coal reserve in the state plummeting to an abysmal 76,000 tonnes, which is barely enough for generating power for the next four days, officials have appealed to the people of the state to brace themselves for long hours of power cut.

The state, which is already hit by poor output from the hydro-electric stations on account of inadequate rainfall, is making desperate efforts to import coal from foreign countries like Indonesia.

“If we don’t receive good rains continuously for the next 30 days, it is virtually doomsday”, Managing Director of Karnataka Power Corporation S M Jaamdar told reporters in Bangalore.

To tide over the crisis, the authorities have reintroduced load-shedding in urban as well as rural areas. To begin with, there will be a power shutdown for two hours every day in Bangalore and for as long as 13 hours in rural areas. “The entire state will be in darkness for long hours if the situation does not improve in the coming days. Power supply will be restricted to just six hours a day due to the dual problem”, he said.

Though Karnataka normally has a coal stock of 300,000 tonnes, the scarcity of coal in the country has hit the state hard. “Our only hope is the expected shipment from Indonesia. We are expecting the coal consignment to reach Raichur Thermal Power Plant by August 22”, he said.

Karnataka had placed an order for 1.2 million tonnes of coal from Indonesia at an “exorbitant” rate of Rs 7,899 per tonne, Jaamdar said.

Federal Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh is visiting the state on account of the grim power situation. “The shortage of coal is not restricted to Karnataka alone. It is a national problem”, he said.

Coal-based thermal power generating stations account for as much as 37 per cent of electricity produced in Karnataka. “A third of Karnataka’s power requirements is met by thermal power generating stations”, he said.

The scarcity of coal has come at a time when the output of power from hydro-electric stations had declined drastically on account of the poor storage levels in its reservoirs.