After the national grid operator warned them about overdrawing power and risking a grid collapse, states have turned to idle thermal facilities for additional electricity.

Several states have requested that such plants reopen, and they are willing to pay a higher price for power supplied from more expensive gas and coal.

The power problem in western states, according to sources in the Union power ministry, is not due to a scarcity of coal, but rather to a lack of forethought, as provisions were not made even as power demand surged and imported coal plants ceased operations owing to high fuel costs.