State-run NTPC's 1,000 Mw thermal power project at Simhadri in Andhra Pradesh is facing huge coal shortage and is working with shoe-string reserves for just two days in comparison to the regular one month stock.
"For the last six-seven months we are running on two days coal stock... Our production has declined,"company source said.
Lack of coal has resulted in loss of electricity generation at Simhadri Thermal Power Project, which supplies power to the state, the source said, but declined to quantify the generation loss.
NTPC Chairman and Managing Director R S Sharma had recently written a letter to the Power Secretary Anil Razdan to intervene and solve the problem due to which power generation has suffered in the past.
The company had taken up the matter at all levels of Ministry of Coal (MoC), Sub Group for Infrastructure Constraints (under MoC), Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries, but coal supplies did not improve.
While Power Ministry has blamed coal producing companies for the shortage, the Coal Ministry has blamed NTPC for not having enough space for coal reserves.
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NTPC was producing less power as it did not get sufficient coal from domestic sources.
On an average, NTPC faced a shortfall of 10-12 million tonnes of coal a year.
It has already lost Rs 94 crore in the current fiscal due to low generation at various plants, including Rihand, Vindhyachal, Farakka, Kahalgaon and Talher following short supply of coal.
NTPC plans to import eight million tonnes of coal in the current financial year (2008-09) out of the total requirement of 125 million tonnes.