As scarcity of coal continued to haunt electricity generation, India witnessed a peak power shortage of over 9,000 mw in April this year. Peak power deficit, or shortage in electricity supply when the demand is at its highest, stood at 6.9 per cent or 9,020 mw in the month of April, according to latest data by the Central Electricity Autority (CEA).    

During April, the peak power demand in the country stood at 1,30,676 mw of which 1,21,656 mw was met.  According to CEA, as many as 19 power stations in the country had coal stocks for less than a week. There was no power shortage in the Delhi, Chandigarh, Punjab, Sikkim, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and only marginal shortage in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha and West Bengal, the data revealed.    

The worst sufferers were Jammu & Kashmir that recorded a deficit of 25 per cent, followed by Bihar (20.8 per cent) and Karnataka (18.7 per cent). Not only Karnataka, the other southern states collectively recorded a deficit of 15.3 per cent in the region, as per the data. The electricity requirement of the region during the period was 38,399 mw of which 32,507 mw was the supply.