Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday said all coal-reliant power plants in the city were non-functional and the BJP was spreading rumours about it.
Addressing a press conference at the Delhi Secretariat regarding the ongoing power crisis in the country, he said, “The National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has to give 3,500 MW power to Delhi under the power purchase agreement, but today it is giving only half of it — 1,750 MW.”
Delhi has gas-powered electric power plants but the Central government has stopped giving gas to Delhi at a controlled rate because of which the Delhi government has to buy gas at market rates to generate electricity.
This has increased the cost of power generation in Delhi. Despite this, there has been no power cut in the national capital and the Delhi government is ensuring 24×7 electricity supply to the people.
Satyendar Jain asked the Central government whether there was really a coal shortage in the country or it was deliberately cutting power.
The Power Minister said, “All coal-reliant power plants in Delhi are non-functional. The Delhi government buys electricity from power plants run on coal and located outside Delhi. The BJP is spreading rumours in this regard.”
“The Central government’s NTPC is the largest producer of electricity in the country. For the last few days, the NTPC has halved the power generation in its power plants. They have done this not for one plant but for all the plants of the country,” he added.
“The Chief Ministers of five or six states have written letters to the Prime Minister on this issue. Be it Punjab, Andhra Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh, power cuts are being imposed everywhere in the country except Delhi. The Delhi government is providing 24×7 electricity to the people even after buying power at higher rates. The Delhi government is being forced to buy electricity at a high price because the NTPC is providing only half the agreed electricity to Delhi,” the Power Minister pointed out.
Jain further said, “On the one hand, the Central government says that there is no shortage of coal and on the other, they say that the responsibility of coal will now be handled by the Union Minister. The Central government should tell whether there is a shortage of coal or not or is it being done intentionally.”