New Delhi, June 4 (IANS) The central government has ensured adequate coal supplies to Uttar Pradesh to meet its thermal-based electricity demands, union Minister for Power and Coal Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
“We are ensuring 100 percent cooperation to Uttar Pradesh and ensuring adequacy of coal and power supply to the state,” said Goyal, who is also minister for new and renewable energy.
“The coal shortage problem has been solved now and there is a stock of 10-40 days of coal in the thermal power plants in UP,” he said answering a question on Facebook.
Goyal said Uttar Pradesh can also purchase power from central public sector units.
“I will be visiting Varanasi and will start work to improve the infrastructure for the Integrated Power Development Scheme,” he said.
Goyal said the government has already changed the electrical lights at Varanasi’s Assi and Dashashwamedh ghats to LED which will be rapidly expanded all over the Hindu holy city.
“I hope the Uttar Pradesh government will ensure 24×7 supply to everybody at the earliest,” he said.
On transmission and distribution losses, the minister said it was prevalent in north and east India, and was above 40 percent in Bihar.
Goyal said that at the state level, many discoms were running on huge losses due to “inefficient management over the years” and it needs to be sorted out.
“The central government is working closely with the states to both reduce these losses and encourage energy conversation and efficiency, and are hopeful that a more sustainable and long lasting solution to this problem will be found without burdening the consumers with large price increases,” he said.
“Our renewable energy thrust, which is the world’s largest such programme, will also help to make India energy secure and environmentally safe,” he said.