In view of the shortage of coal, a dominant fuel used to generate electricity in the country, the government halted hundreds of passenger trains. Meanwhile, state-run Coal India ramped up coal production by 27.2% in April.
Several states across the country reeled under long power cuts, as hotter-than-normal temperatures pushed the electricity demand, triggering a major power crisis. According to a report by Reuters, electricity supply fell short of demand by 1.88 billion units, or 1.6%, during the first 27 days of April.
This electricity shortage is the worst in more than six decades and some states have faced power cuts as long as eight hours. In view of the shortage of coal, a dominant fuel used to generate electricity in the country, the government halted hundreds of passenger trains. Meanwhile, state-run Coal India ramped up coal production by 27.2% in April.
The peak in demand has been met with load shedding and planned outages by states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana and Uttarakhand. Since the start of April, Jharkhand has been facing an average supply shortage of 10-12%, the worst in the country, followed by Andhra Pradesh (10%), Uttarakhand (8-10%), Madhya Pradesh (6%) and Haryana (4%).