New Delhi Oct 12 (Bureau) Amid the threat of a power crisis in the national capital, Delhi got a breather as the Ministry of Power on Tuesday directed the NTPC and DVC to supply as much power as available to the city DISCOMs. The Ministry in a statement said, “Keeping in view the Declared Capacity (DC) offered to the Delhi DISCOMs in last 10 days, Ministry of Power has issued instructions on 10.10.2021 to National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) as under so as to secure power supply to Delhi.” “This will ensure that distribution companies of Delhi will get as much as power as requisitioned by them as per their demand,” it said. The Ministry said, NTPC and DVC may offer the normative declared capacity (DC) to the Delhi DISCOMS as per their allocations made to them under respective PPAs, from their coal-based power stations.
The Ministry, in addition to this, has also directed the power corporations to utilise the unallocated power, to meet the increased demand from the coal-based power generation. “Under these guidelines, the States have been requested to use the unallocated power for supplying electricity to the consumers of the State; and in case of surplus power, the States are requested to intimate so that this power can be reallocated to other needy State,” it said. The Ministry said, if any State is found selling power in power exchange or not scheduling this unallocated power, their unallocated power may be temporarily reduced or withdrawn and reallocated to other States which are in need of such power. There have been recent reports on India likely to face a power crisis due to a shortage of coal availability to the thermal plants across the country. Some states have complained about an impending power shortage and written to the Central Government raising the issue of shortage of coal. Some states have also reported power cuts due to supply shortages. However, the government had denied the reports and said, sufficient coal was available in the country to meet the demand for electricity generating plants.