In a written reply to a Rajya Sabha query, Minister of State for Power, Bharatsinh Solanki said, "The coal supply position of thermal power stations in the country is not comfortable, the all-India coal stock on July 6 was 11.055 million tonnes."
As on July 6, of the total 78 coal-based thermal power stations monitored by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), 31 were "critical" having a coal stock of less than seven days. Of the 31, 10 power stations were "supercritical" having a coal stock of less than four days.
The government is taking various measures to improve supply of the dry fuel, including importing 28.7 million tonnes during the current financial year (2009-10).
New coal blocks are being allocated by the Coal Ministry to power producers or utilities for captive mining to meet requirement of their power plants, he said.
Regular monitoring of coal supply to power plants for optimising the fuel supply to the generating stations from various sources is being carried out by the ministry, he added.
