Coal shortage is beginning to
reflect in the spot electricity rates, which have risen steadily to an average
of around Rs 5 per unit in the Southern region and close to Rs 4 per unit in
the rest of the country.
Tuesday's peak electricity rates
on the IEX, the country's largest power exchange were recorded at Rs 9 in the
South and close to Rs 6 in the other parts of the country, as coal supplies to
the sector, are slipping again after a mild recovery in the middle of last
month.
Government estimates suggest a
cumulative generation loss of over 5 billion units during the first seven
months of the current fiscal. This was mainly on account of the inadequate
availability of coal, which is beginning to show up in the steadily climbing
spot power rates. Latest estimates released suggest that nine stations are left
with a day's stock or even less than that
Coal stock position has been
worst since the beginning of last month. While excessive rains in Coal India Ltd's
coal fields and workers' strike at Singareni Collieries were largely
responsible for triggering the recent coal shortage situation, law and order
problems in the Central Coalfields Ltd and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, inadequate
crushing capacity at mines and less transportation of coal from mines to
railway sidings have aggravated the problem.
The worsening fuel position comes
after a brief blip in the middle of last month, when coal stocks showed signs
of recovering at power stations. This was at a time when the Coal Ministry had
claimed that coal companies had been asked to step up dispatches to major
thermal stations.
Source: The Business Line
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