Coal India strike to hit UP thermal power generation

The thermal power plants in UP are dependent upon coal supply by CIL and its subsidiaries

The five-day strike by Coal India Limited (CIL) employees, beginning on Tuesday, is likely to hit thermal power plants in Uttar Pradesh.

Over 350,000 employees went on strike against the disinvestment in CIL.

The public sector power engineers under the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) have also extended their "moral support" to the strike. Thermal power plants in the state are dependent on CIL and its subsidiaries for coal supply. Since these power units have coal inventory for the next two-five days only, the generation capacity would definitely be hit after the stock is exhausted.

On Monday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had directed officials to keep a close watch on the situation unfolding in the wake of the strike, so that power generation is not hit.

State-owned UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam has dismissed possibilities of coal supply bottlenecks hitting production at five of its major plants in the state.

Nigam managing director Sanjay Prasad claimed Obra, Anpara and Panki units had sufficient coal supply for the next 5 days. However, the prospects at the other two Parichha and Harduaganj plants were being monitored closely as they have coal inventory for the next two days.

A team of senior Nigam officials had been formed to keep vigil on the situation.

Meanwhile, AIPEF chairman Shailendra Dubey claimed 22 big power plants in India had coal supply to suffice for only 3 days, while 40 others had coal stock for the next 4 days.

Therefore, in days to come power generation was bound to get affected, he warned.

Dubey said after the Supreme Court had cancelled coal block auctions terming them illegal, the Centre instead of handing the coal blocks to CIL was gearing up to hand these over to private companies through auction.

This, he claimed, was as a step towards privatisation, which the CIL employees were demanding to be rescinded by taking back the recent ordinance.