Bokaro power supply is under renewed pressure after coal stocks at Bokaro Power Supply Company Ltd (BPSCL) fell to about three days, with irregular consignments reducing generation and prompting staggered outages across Bokaro Steel City. The shortage is affecting electricity availability for both the Bokaro Steel Plant and its township.
BPSCL requires around 4,000 tonnes of coal daily to maintain normal operations, according to its chief executive officer Sudhir Vyas. The utility earlier received almost one rake of coal each day, but consignments are now arriving once every two to three days, he said.
Power generation at the Damodar Valley Corporation-SAIL joint venture has declined to around 130-150 MW from about 190 MW in recent weeks. The fall has increased pressure on supplies to the Bokaro Steel Plant, or BSL, and residential areas served through the township network.
BSL requires about 240 MW for plant operations and a further 55 MW for township demand. Its electricity supply is drawn from both BPSCL and the Damodar Valley Corporation, making the availability of coal for the joint venture important to industrial operations as well as household power supply.
The Central Coalfields Ltd and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd are the main suppliers involved in the disrupted deliveries. BPSCL officials have attributed the interruptions partly to monsoon-related effects on mining and transportation. Vyas said the company had urged the coal companies to restore normal supplies, warning that the limited buffer stock could constrain generation further if fresh consignments did not improve soon.
To manage the reduced availability, the utility is distributing power through staggered outages. Sources in BSL said the arrangement is intended to prevent any locality from remaining without electricity for an extended period and to give residents time to charge inverters before supply interruptions.
The immediate impact is being felt in Bokaro’s residential sectors, where repeated cuts are affecting daily routines. Dheeraj Kumar, a resident of Sector 2, said residents hoped authorities would take immediate steps to restore normal electricity supply.
Officials have warned that any further reduction in coal deliveries could deepen disruptions in the township and affect steel plant operations. The next operational milestone is the restoration of regular coal consignments from CCL and BCCL, which BPSCL has requested to stabilise generation and electricity distribution.
