In April 2022, many states, most notably, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, etc. , reported power cuts.
In March – May, summer temperatures are high in most parts of the country. This also leads to a surge in demand.
This year, coal supplies were low in most thermal power plants. As coal stocks dipped even further, some states had to face long power cuts.
Power cuts impact all sectors of the economy and make daily life difficult.
Over the last 10 days (April 15-22), these power cuts were experienced.
Why did the power cuts happen?
According to the government, the power cuts happened because the thermal power plants did not correctly forecast how much coal would be needed.
The power companies have not shared a reason for the outages.
What was done?
The Indian Railways was used to ensure that coal reaches many of the affected power plants and quickly.
Even all through the year, this year (2021-22), the Railways loaded and carried 20% more coal than last year (2020-21) – a total of 653MT (metric tonnes).
The capacity has been increased by 10% within just one month – April.
This is an ongoing report. The power situation is expected to ease after this step.