'India should plan strategic fuel reserves', says Power Secy Alok Kumar

Several reforms in power transmission for renewables are in the offing, says union secretary of power, Alok Kumar

The Union Secretary of Power, Alok Kumar, on Thursday said India should consider having strategic fuel reserves for coal, gas and oil to deal with any demand-supply mismatch.

“Let us start thinking about keeping strategic reserves of these fuels — coal, gas, oil — so that economies are able to adjust and tide over any supply shortfall for about a month or so. That would be a small cost vis-à-vis the cost of disruption and uncertainty which countries face,” Kumar said.

The statement comes at a time when the country is barely out of the coal shortage crisis, which started