Hyderabad: Captive power plants are facing problems with shortage of coal after the Centre directed the Singareni Collieries Company Limited to divert the coal to government-owned power plants.
SCCL supplies three million tonnes of coal per year to about 25 captive power plants in TS, AP and Karnataka. These plants are set up by big companies, including the cement makers.
Following the shortage, ITC Bhadrachalam representatives recently met energy special chief secretary Ajay Misra and requested that coal supply for their 100 MW captive power plant be restored.
They said the company had not faced a shortage of coal even during the strike by Singareni workers.
The problem had become dire, and the officials requested the government to supply at least 20 per cent of the coal allocated to them.
Rains generally affect coal production. This year, there was an abnormal increase in power demand after the rainy season leading to greater pressure on thermal power plants in the public sector.
For instance, the power demand on September 13 stood at 9,510 MW, the highest ever in the state. This was more than the power consumed in the state in peak winter.
SCCL general manager Kishan Rao said the company had restored coal supply to captive power plants. He said there was a problem for a few days and but they were back to supplying coal to all captive thermal power plants.
