Power Ministry to hold a meet today over coal shortage issue

Now 1.7 lakh tonne of coal from 26 stations will be diverted. Apart from this, the ministry is also saying that 6,000 megawatt capacity is lying idle or not supplying power due to power purchase agreement (PPA) related issues from Mundra in Gujarat. Now, Adani Power, Tata Power and Essar Power have the issue of compensatory tariff on their Mundra units.

The Power Ministry has scheduled a meeting today to resolve the issues of the Mundra power plant. It is likely that the power ministry will discuss the selling of power from the Mundra plant to exchanges.

Interestingly, because of the supply issue, the prices of electricity has touched Rs 20 per unit on power exchange on August 29 and the average is also increased compared to the first week of August.

This is on account of various reasons. One of them is, of course, the rains which always hamper coal production and transportation. Apart from that, many distribution companies (DISCOMs) have not made the payment to Coal India subsidiaries and that has also hindered it.

The selling on the exchange will be a short-term resolution. One will have to see whether the government will also come out with a long-term plan with these units, which will please the street.