The government today said NTPC's power plants at Farakka, Talcher, Kahalgaon and Sipat have very little coal, though the state-run company denies reports of coal shortage.
"The coal stock position at some of NTPC's power stations namely Farakka, Kahalgaon, Talcher and Sipat has depleted," Minister of State for Power Bharatsinh Solanki said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
The main reason for the shortage is inadequate availability of indigenous coal, he said. NTPC had earlier denied any coal shortage at its power plants in the country.
The combined coal requirement of these power plants from April to June 2009 was 112.41 million tonnes, and they got 87.92 million tonnes, official data said.
NTPC is importing nearly 15 million tonnes of coal in the current fiscal and has imported 3.6 million tonnes up to June 2009.
In order to bridge the domestic shortfall, the company is also exploring the possibility of acquiring stakes in coal mines in Mozambique, South Africa, etc.
