Eight-Hour Blackouts Slam India After Hottest March Since 1901
NDTV
A surge in demand for electricity has prompted states including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh to cut off power supply.
An already sweltering summer and acute coal shortages are triggering blackouts across parts of India, raising fears of a new power crisis that could roil Asia's third-biggest economy.
A surge in demand for electricity has prompted states including Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in the north and Andhra Pradesh in the south to cut off supply. The disruption, as long as eight hours in some places, is forcing customers to either endure the heat or look for costlier back-up options.
Although outages aren't uncommon in India, the situation this year particularly points to a "looming power crisis," said Shailendra Dubey, chairman of All India Power Engineers Federation, an advocacy group.
The blackouts sparked by the scarcity of coal -- the fossil fuel that accounts for 70 per cent of India's electricity generation -- are threatening to hobble the $2.7 trillion economy that's looking to fire up all its engines after emerging from a record contraction caused by the pandemic. They are also fanning inflation at a time when policy makers are struggling to rein in runaway energy prices fueled by Russia's war in Ukraine.
