Union Power Minister RK Singh chaired a meeting on Tuesday with the stakeholders, including senior officers from Power sector, Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Railways, and talked on various issues to meet the high electricity demand in the upcoming months, especially during April and May.

The ministry highlighted the power utilities to be “directed to undertake maintenance for coal-based power plants well in advance so that no planned maintenance is required during the crunch period.

During the meeting, Member Railway Board assured availability of enough rakes for transport of coal. The Ministry of Railways agreed to provide 418 rakes to different subsidiaries of CIL, GSS and captive blocks and also enhance the number of rakes in due course so that sufficient coal stock can be maintained at power plants

According to the estimates of the Central Electricity Authority, the demand of electricity need is expected to be 229GW by April.