Modi faces tough task in national power crisis
Print Edition
NARENDRA Modi took decisive action as chief minister of Gujarat state to secure round-the-clock supplies of electricity. Now, as prime minister of India, he is under attack for failing to avert a national power crisis.
More than half of India’s thermal power stations have less than a week’s supply of fuel — the lowest levels since mid-2012 when hundreds of millions of people were cut off in one of the world’s worst blackouts.
Coal stocks at thermal stations have hit critical levels as payment disputes escalate, unleashing power cuts that could choke off an economic recovery before it takes hold and hurt Modi’s prospects at forthcoming state elections.
Financial metropolis Mumbai was plunged into darkness for most of Tuesday, amid a row between private generators and regional distributors that is symptomatic of an industry mired in debt and arrears of at least US$100 billion.
It’s a headache for Modi that experts say will only get worse. His government is resisting political pressure for a bailout, just two years after a rescue by the last government that it denounces as a “farce.”
“The moment I start with financial assistance for one state, all the states will be asking me,” Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday as he marked a rocky first 100 days in the job.
“States have to improve their own systems. I can’t fund their coal purchases,” said Goyal, who is mediating in payment disputes in an attempt to mitigate the power crisis.
Prithviraj Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra, has from state capital Mumbai pointed the finger of blame at Modi.
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