UP Power Crisis: Coal Ministry Puts State on Notice Over 973-Million-Tonne Coal Block

The Ministry of Coal has pushed back against reports of a severe coal shortage in Uttar Pradesh, saying the State’s thermal power plants are not facing a critical coal-stock situation and that Coal India Limited (CIL) continues to meet the State’s coal requirement.

At the same time, the Ministry has questioned why Uttar Pradesh has failed to operationalise its own Saharpur Jamarpani captive coal block in Jharkhand, allotted more than a decade ago and holding reserves of over 973 million tonnes.

The block in Dumka district was allotted to Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL) on August 13, 2015, under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, specifically to meet the coal requirement of its thermal power projects.

More than 10 years later, the block remains non-operational.

The Ministry said the lack of progress has resulted in Uttar Pradesh continuing to depend entirely on CIL for the coal required by its power plants. It pointed out that 14 other captive coal blocks allotted for power-sector use on or after the allotment of Saharpur Jamarpani have already been operationalised and commenced production.

Coal stocks rise despite shortage claims

According to the Ministry, coal availability at UPRVUNL’s thermal power plants has actually improved in recent weeks.

Coal stock increased from 7.25 lakh tonnes on September 1 to 8.41 lakh tonnes on September 15, an increase of around 16%.

More significantly, during the seven days preceding September 15, average daily coal receipts stood at approximately 0.90 lakh tonnes, against average daily consumption of around 0.83 lakh tonnes.

In other words, coal receipts were exceeding consumption, allowing stocks to build up.

The Ministry also said CIL supplied an average of around 17.7 rakes a day to UPRVUNL power plants during the preceding 10 days.

CIL had additionally offered extra coal under the Road/RCR mode to generating companies, including UPRVUNL, on September 3 to facilitate further stock build-up.

Ministry flags unloading problems

The Coal Ministry, however, has identified another bottleneck at the power plants — unloading constraints.

According to the Ministry, restrictions on unloading at various plants can result in periodic restrictions on rake placement by the Railways, thereby limiting the ability to further increase coal supplies.

The Ministry has also drawn attention to UPRVUNL’s generation performance.

Despite coal stocks crossing 8 lakh tonnes, the current-month Plant Load Factor (PLF) of UPRVUNL’s thermal power plants is only around 48%.

The Ministry therefore said the lower generation during the current month cannot be attributed to inadequate coal availability at the plant end and indicated that operational constraints at generating stations need to be addressed.

The bigger question: Why is Saharpur Jamarpani still idle?

The Ministry’s statement brings the spotlight back on Uttar Pradesh’s long-pending captive coal mine.

Saharpur Jamarpani was allotted specifically to provide fuel security to UPRVUNL’s thermal power projects. Yet, despite its substantial reserves, the block has not entered production more than a decade after allotment.

The Ministry has now advised Uttar Pradesh to take urgent steps to develop and operationalise the block, arguing that doing so would reduce dependence on external coal supplies and provide long-term fuel security to the State’s power sector.

For the moment, the message from the Centre is clear: CIL says it is supplying Uttar Pradesh, while the State is being asked to solve the longer-term problem by putting its own captive coal asset into production.