Telangana’s thermal power plant PLF falls to 56.86 pc in 2025-26, below national average

Telangana's thermal power plant utilisation has fallen below the national average since the Congress government assumed office, according to figures cited by a social media user. The State's PLF declined from 65.01 per cent in 2024-25 to 56.86 per cent in 2025-26.

Hyderabad: After being recognised as a model State for its energy sector reforms and measures, particularly in ensuring quality and uninterrupted power supply over a decade during the BRS rule, Telangana is now facing a power crisis.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has, on several occasions, cited the impact of El Nino weather pattern and warned of a severe water and power shortage in the State over the next eight to 10 months. He had even admitted that despite the State government ready to purchase power at higher prices, electricity was not available in the open market.

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The Opposition parties have accused the Congress government of failing to anticipate the power requirement and make alternative arrangements in time.

However, the energy sector, particularly thermal power generation, presented a different picture during the previous BRS government. Telangana’s total contracted power generation capacity, which stood at 7,778 MW in 2014, increased to 18,567 MW by May 2023.

Through a series of reforms and measures, the previous government ensured that thermal power generation consistently performed above the national average. The power station’s Plant Load Factor (PLF) was 10 to 20 percentage points higher than the national average on several occasions.

What exactly is PLF?

Plant Load Factor (PLF) is a measure of the actual electricity generated by a power plant compared with the electricity it could have generated at its installed capacity. A PLF of 100 per cent indicates that a plant is operating at full capacity, while a PLF of 50 per cent means that only half of its potential generation capacity is being utilised.

Between 2014 and 2023, the national average PLF did not exceed 69.5 per cent, while Telangana’s thermal power plants maintained more PLF way than the national average. On several occasions, the State recorded a PLF that was 10 to 20 percentage points higher than the national average. This performance helped ensure uninterrupted power supply to all sectors, including domestic consumers, agriculture and industries.

However, the situation has now changed. Since the Congress government assumed office in December 2023, the capacity utilisation of thermal power plants in Telangana has fallen below the national average.

Citing TGGENCO statistics, social media user Pasham Raghunandan Reddy said on X that the State’s PLF stood at 65.01 per cent in 2024-25 and declined further to 56.86 per cent in 2025-26, according to the Central Electricity Authority’s March 2026 performance report.

Despite Telangana having sufficient installed thermal power capacity to meet its requirements and access to coal from Singareni collieries, why has power generation declined over the last three years, he asked.

“Is this not an administrative failure on the part of the Congress government? Who, then, is responsible for the losses suffered by the farmers and the people of Telangana?” Raghunandan Reddy questioned.