Have you ever wondered about a nationwide blackout? Or why are electricity bills rising? If not, then buckle up to gather some deep insights into the blackout situation. Why are many Indian states facing problems of load shedding and power cuts? Is this due to the shortage of coal? The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted various sectors of the economy; the coal sector is one of them. The inflated import prices of coal have played a vital role due to which the power plants have reserves less than the requirement. But this isn’t it! This blog will dive deep into the causes, repercussions and renewable energy methods for a brighter future.
INDIA’S COAL RESERVES
India emerges amongst the top nations in coal reserves. It has the fourth-largest coal reserves in the world and stands second in terms of production but due to the soaring high demand, India has to rely on other means as well to meet the requirement. India’s electricity sector is dominated by fossil fuels, in particular coal, which during the fiscal year 2018-19 produced about three-quarters of the country’s electricity.
In the fiscal year that ended in March 2021, despite the short supply of coal, India exported 8 lakh tons of coal to its neighboring countries. India imports around 300-400 million tons of coal, mainly from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa. Now, due to the domestic shortage, India’s reliance on Indonesia has increased. According to government data, coal inventories at Indian power plants fell to around 8.1 million tons at the end of September, roughly 76% less than a year earlier.
HOW DID INDIA GET HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?
One of the major reasons for the coal crisis is that the demand for domestic coal has outstripped the supply by a wide margin. The demand for coal in August and September went up by 17 per cent as compared to the same period in 2019. The power prices have increased globally, raising concerns of inflation driven by shortages. A survey shows that 80% of the coal-fired plants in India were in the supercritical stage, which in turn means that the stock available could run out in less than 5 days!
Heavy monsoon rains were also blamed for less production of electricity as the mines were flooded with water impeding the dispatch of coal. It isn’t just India, a few other countries including China, one of the largest economies in the world, are in dire need of coal. The question that arises is, will China’s energy crisis put the global economic recovery at risk? China is willing to import coal at ‘any price’, yes you heard it right! This results in multiple fluctuations in the coal price and hence reckoning the global economy.
China used to import coal from Australia but amid a political dispute, it stopped purchasing coal from Australia. Now China had to rely on other countries to meet its breakneck demand which has also resulted in shortages. Power generation and distribution companies around the world are facing an existential crisis. In the UK alone, nine such companies have shut operations failing to survive amid rising prices of natural gas.
HOW IT AFFECTED THE NATION?
Coal accounts for around 70% of India’s electricity generation. Many Indian states were hit by power outages this month. An analytical data generated by federal grid regulator POSOCO showed that the eastern states of Bihar and Jharkhand and the northwestern state of Rajasthan were amongst the worst affected.
As 13 of the power plants were shut down, authorities in western Maharashtra including Mumbai appealed to the citizens to use electricity wisely. In Punjab, three power plants halted production and the residents had to face power cuts of up to six hours! Rajasthan received half of the volume of coal it had contracted from Coal India Ltd., this resulted in rolling outages of up to four hours!
Spot prices on the Indian Exchange Ltd tripled reaching 16.42 rupees a kilowatt-hour which is the highest in 12 years. Some industries such as iron, steel and aluminum were the most affected as production costs are high and operations are dependent on the power sector.
SOLUTION FOR THIS PROBLEM
So isn’t there a solution for this crisis? Considering the current scenario no solution will completely solve the problem. We might manage to arrange coal this time but the problem will surely arise again after 5-6 years. The perfect remedy can only be achieved if we start taking measures in the immediate effect. Here are some measures that might act as an aid for our future generations.
- Reducing the importance of coal and switching to renewable sources of energy. To start with, coal is a dirty fuel. Its ignition results in global warming. The current rate of ignition will result in a 5-degree increase in temperature by 2080. We are in the eleventh hour and we have to instantly search for an alternative. All the renewable sources of energy such as solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, tidal energy, hydro energy and biomass energy are great alternatives to coal. We can implant solar heaters on an individual basis on the terrace of our homes. Initially, it might be a little costly but eventually, it would be cost-effective and beneficial for our environment. There is also a possibility that after using these solar heaters for 2 years, you won’t have to pay a single penny for hot water throughout your life. Isn’t it interesting?
- Using methane digesters. Methane is a clean fuel. When methane is used for the production of electricity it releases minimal pollution. While on the other hand coal releases a significant amount of pollution. This bio-waste can easily be produced in homes, farms and hotels and can be stored in the anaerobic digesters to give an output of both biogas and fertilizers. Methane digesters have been used in countries like Germany for electricity generation.
- The usage of coal should be emphasized more in the power sector rather than other industries like steel, cement and paper. This will reduce the usage of coal and the maximum amount of coal will be used for generating electricity. Hence, we need to give a little more importance to the power sector in this case.
- Switching to Micro Small Medium Enterprises. It’s the dire need of the hour to switch to MSME’s. These MSME’s consumes less electricity and releases less pollution as compared to the large scale industries. Government can focus on the running of MSME’s more than the large scale industries as it will help the environment in the long run and will also save electricity.
Voluntary load shedding. This is the easiest and the best way to prevent all these kinds of events in the near future. If we voluntarily save electricity for even one hour a day, it will be a valuable contribution from our side. On the other hand, if the load shedding is done by the government then there will be no fixed time and duration for the same and the power supply can be stopped at any given time during the day. This might result in missing important meetings, online classes or your favorite shows. A walk of one hour with your family during the day will be beneficial for your health too. So what are you waiting for? Put your shoes on and take a step towards saving electricity.
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