Who turned the lights off

Electricity now is a 'basic right'. India is lit by electricity from thermal power plants which are fuelled by coal. ‘Coal India’ was a large coal company owned by the government, but now many private firms are mining for coal. When coal reserves will get lower, the private firms would keep a hidden stock, so that they can sell at scarce times. Scarce times are coming. Coal reserves have been exhausted now. Many important power plants do not have reserves and will be in a critical stage when power generation can stop anytime. In panic mode, new policies are being made to acquire more forest area for mining coal.

How are our power plants running? Central Electricity Authority (CEA) says 33 plants (Capacity of 39054 MW) do not have coal security and are running on critical mode. Delhi metropolis is provided with power from Rajghat thermal power house having capacity of 135Mw, and Badarpur plant with capacity of 705MW only .Haryana is powered by Panipat plant with 1360, Yamuna Nagar with 600MW and Indira Gandhi plant with 500MW. Uttar Pradesh has Rihand with 2000MW, Singrauli with 2000MW and Bhilai with 500MW among others.

Who has what? Private firms are trying to acquire coal mines overseas as demand is foreseen. Many private coal firms like Reliance Power, Lanco Infratech, Peabody Energy, Shenhua Energy are acquiring mines in a big way(Peabody-246 mt and Shenhua-256 mt). Moreover coal quality is better in overseas coal. Indian firms are spending much to acquire abroad. Adani acquired Linc Energy of Queensland for $2.72 billion, Reliance Power acquired at Indonesia for $2 billion, GVK group 1.26 million, Lanco acquired at Australia $780 million and GMR acquired coal for $650 million respectively. So we will get coal somehow.

Industries will be worst affected—industries depend on electricity for functioning. They will be running at higher cost than before. And cost of their product would be higher. Power rationing will affect their functioning. There are many industrial areas adjoining the city of Delhi in Haryana state people are used to power rationing. For Delhi’s roads to be lit all night, power from neighbouring Haryana state was cut or reduced. Soon the process of making infrastructure will slow down or stop till the power crisis is over. Plans will be delayed. Factories would all come to a standstill.
We should change over to other sources of energy like solar energy to add to hydroelectric power. Wind energy can be generated in those places where there is high velocity wind. More non-conventional energy sources will be explored when the cost of energy becomes very high.

What will happen to cost of electricity? When the coal prices go up, these coal firms will sell at high cost, power will be generated at a higher cost; and so the cost of electricity will increase. Those poor households, who wanted to pay for getting electricity connection, will not want an electricity connection now; for it is out of their reach now.  Will the poor man (who is able to earn to buy little food only) be able to afford electricity? City municipalities and townships will have to allocate much for keeping the street lights on all night and will increase taxes. And the increased tax of the city municipalities will be paid by the poor citizens. So he will become more impoverished by rising cost of power. The poorest citizens cannot cut down on food bill, so he may be have his home “disconnected” to save on electricity bill. He can change his residence (with lesser rent). For his livelihood he has to live in the town and cannot move away. He will try to earn better (he cannot pay very high municipal tax). He will become the urban poor with no savings. That is the cost of high coal price---making of the modern urban poor. The most burdened man on Earth will have to take more burdens.