Lack of fuel supply a major reason for power shortage: CEA

01 Apr 2013 Evaluate

Central Electricity Authority (CEA) chairman A S Bakshi said that the growing electricity scarcity in the country, particularly in the south, is due to fuel shortage of gas and coal and that the capacity for production is not a constraint as 20,000 MW of additional power generation capacity has been added this year. He said that though, there are adequate reserves, coal shortage will continue for at least 3-4 years. While, the domestic coal supply to power generating stations has increased by 8 percent this year, but still there will be a shortage of 45 million tonnes by next year. 

Regarding the power crisis in the southern states, particularly Andhra Pradesh, Bakshi added that shortage of fuel and (transmission) corridor-related issues were the major reasons for the lack of power supply in the state. Moreover, poor monsoon and delay in commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant also added to the power scarcity in the state. 

The resources currently allocated to energy supply are not sufficient for narrowing the gap between energy needs and energy availability. In India, electricity is produced with the help of coal, crude oil, water and natural gas. As on March, 2011 country's estimated coal reserves were at about 286 billion tonnes, lignite at 81 billion tonnes, crude oil at 757 million tonnes and natural gas at 1,241 billion cubic metre (BCM). Coal was already being imported for thermal plants and the import of LNG and production of shale gas could be the options for gas-based power generating stations in the long term.

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