Bhubaneswar: A serious power crisis looking at the nation as the NTPC’s power plants in Odisha are facing shut down due to coal shortages.
The NTPC’s 3000 MW Kaniha Talcher Super Thermal Power Station(TSTPS), which supplies power to several Eastern states and North Easter states besides some Southern states and Odisha, is his by serious coal crisis. The NTPC has shut down three of the six units of 500 MW each at Kaniha and the present generation is only 900 MW. Simlarly, the 460 MW NTPC Talcher Thermal Power Stations is badly affeced by coal shortage. Only one of six units of the plant is now running.
“For the last nine days there was no coal supply from the Mahanadi Coalfiled Ltd(MCL) due to workers strike in Talcher coal mines. If the Odisha plants will not get coal within a couple of days, it may result in actute shortage in power supply to Odisha as well as other states such as Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the states of North East as well as to the states of southern parts of the country,” said a company spokesperson.
Coal production and supply have come to a halt and the NTPC power plants in Odisha have not received coal from the mines since July 25, 2019.
NTPC Kaniha plant requires 58,000 tonnes of coal per day to run its six units of 500 MW each. NTPC Talcher Thermal Plant requires 9000 tonnes coal per day to keep its 460 MW capacity running. NTPC is now managing with sourcing coal from MCL’s Ib Valley Coalfields.
