Goyal instructs officials to closely monitor power situation

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday instructed officials from the coal, power and railway ministries to "keep a close vigil on the power production and supply situation" in the country.

According to the Ministry of Coal, Goyal on Friday chaired a meeting with Power Minister R.K. Singh to review the "power supply requirement during the ongoing summer and forthcoming winter season".

"Various short term, medium term and long term measures were discussed in detail to improve the coal stock position in power plants of the country," the ministry said in a statement.

As per the statement, Goyal who also holds the charge of the Ministry of Finance and Railways stressed on the "necessity to increase Plant Load Factor (PLF) of various Power Plants of the country".

Goyal was quoted in the statement as saying that all pithead plants with sufficient coal supply should run at 100 per cent PLF. He expressed the desire to hold a fortnightly meeting of the ministries involved to review the power situation in the country, the statement said.

Besides, Goyal stressed on the need for states "located far from mines to use provisions under 'Flexibility of utilization of Coal' rules, so that this coal can be used by those power stations near the coal source".

Presently, Gujarat and Maharashtra have utilised these provisions.

"This will enable cheaper power to the respective States and efficient utilization of rolling stock enabling coal supply for other power stations," the statement said.

In addition, Goyal underlined the need to improve the turnaround time of rakes by "better scheduling of trains and optimum utilisation of traffic blocks".

He expressed the need to rationalise operational and maintenance practices on the high density routes of Indian Railways, the statement added.

--IANS

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