Power situation grim in Bihar: Minister

PATNA: The power situation has become grim in Bihar due to availability of only 1068 MW as the Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) has stopped coal supply to the NTPC's Farakka and Kahalgaon plants, state Energy Minister Bijender Prasad Yadav said today.

"We are getting only 776 MW power from the central pool as against quota of 1,835 MW and another 292 MW comes from the power suppliers Adani and DVC to make it 1068 MW that could be distributed to the consumers, he said in the legislative assembly.

The power situation in Bihar has become grave after the ECL has stopped coal supply to the NTPC's Farakka and Kahalgaon plants after the public sector power producer wrote to the coal supplier recently intimating that payment will be made only after inspection of quality and quantity of coal at the power plants, Yadav said.

The Minister said the ECL has threatened to stop coal supply to the NTPC's Thalcher plant and if it did so the power situation will further deteriorate in Bihar as the state gets bulk of power from these three plants.

Yadav informed the house quoting the NTPC Chairman and Director that the centre has set up a third party team of officials of the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Fuel Research Institute which will visit the NTPC thermal power plants and inspect quality and quantity of coal supplied by the ECL.

Till the problem of coal supply to the NTPC thermal poer plants was solved, the power situation in Bihar will continue to remain grim, he said.