How Will India's Coal Shortage Crisis Affect the End Consumer?

Does the shortage mean an increase in your electricity bills or more than usual power outages? Tune in!

The Big Story Podcast on India's Coal Shortage Crisis and Impact. Image used for representation only.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/ The Quint)

Coal, which is used to produce almost 70 percent of electricity in India, is alarmingly depleting in the country, with stockpiles plunging to their lowest record since 2018 and may only last three more days according to the power ministry.

As of 4 October, out of the 104 thermal power plants in India, 16 plants which bring in the significant chunk of the power generation capacity have zero days of stocks. Forty-five of these plants report stocks only for the next couple of days.

And with half the countries coal plants on high alert, India is reportedly staring at crisis which could go on for as long as six months according to the power minister. In an interview with The Indian Express, Power Minister Raj Kumar Singh was quoted saying that it is a “touch and go” situation for the next few weeks.

This shortage also comes at a time when the global prices of coal and natural gas, which is predominantly used to power industrial factories and also heat homes, is at a multi-year high. This increase in price has been attributed to several countries coming out of the depths of the pandemic and thus the demand of electricity increasing.

With India stepping into the festival month of October and winters just around the corner, what will be the impact of this shortage on the end consumer? Does this mean an increase in your electricity bills or more than usual power cuts in the coming months?

To discuss the factors contributing to this shortage and its impact on the Indian economy, for this episode we spoke with Narendra Taneja, a leading energy expert and the chairman of Independent Energy Policy Institute. Tune in!