Amidst the power crisis, the stakeholders like CIL, Tata and Adani Group Chhattisgarh, Odisha and other mineral-rich states have been stepping up production levels.
The recent coal crisis raised concerns over long power outages in the country since India is heavily dependent on coal for meeting most of its energy demands. The data released by the Central Electricity Authority of India stated that nearly 80 per cent of the coal-fired power plants were at a critical or supercritical stage with less than five days of stock remaining. Amidst all this, power consumption in the country alone has jumped by almost 17 per cent, as compared to the same period in 2019.
In a bid to avoid a similar situation from arising in future, the stakeholders like CIL, Tata and Adani group Chhattisgarh, Odisha and other mineral-rich states have stepped up the production levels.
Since the power crisis in India brewed with critically low stocks, the shortage severely impacted states such as Gujrat, Rajasthan, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. The Coal Minister urged senior officials of the Chhattisgarh mine to scale up coal production and distribution. Currently, the state ranks second in coal production by contributing over 18 per cent to the total national production.
The Adani Group has a significant presence in Chhattisgarh. There are seven mines which are being operated on an MDO basis by Adani group mining Chhattisgarh. Large power generators such as state-run Coal India Ltd. and NTPC Ltd., have raised outputs to ensure that the demand is met. Other players such as South Eastern Coal Fields Limited (SECL), and CG Natural Resources are also scaling up their production to increase the supply output.
The government is also expecting increased production from captive mine owners like Tata Power, Essar Energy and Adani. Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand are some of the most mineral rich-states in India which play host to many mining companies. Scaling up operations in these areas will contribute to India’s energy security in the coming future.
