Yadadri has five days of coal as Telangana power plants face shortage

Telangana’s thermal power stations reportedly have coal stocks for barely nine days against a 21-day requirement. Yadadri has supplies for five days, while questions persist over coal procurement, stock management, alternative supplies and the government’s preparedness to maintain power generation.

Hyderabad: Telangana appears to be hurtling towards a dangerous power supply crisis.

The State’s thermal power stations have coal stocks that would last barely nine days, against the mandatory 21-day requirement, raising concerns over the Congress government’s preparedness to avert a supply crisis. Yadadri Thermal Power Station (YTPS), with an installed capacity of 4,000 MW, has stocks for just five days.

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As on Friday, Telangana Power Generation Corporation Limited (TGGENCO) had closing stocks of 6.41 lakh tonnes against an average daily consumption of 74,800 tonnes. Kothagudem Thermal Power Station (KTPS) units V and VI, Bhadradri and Kakatiya Thermal Power Plant (KTPP) units I and II had reserves for 10 to 11 days, while KTPS VII had stocks for 13 days.

The shortfall across all major plants raises questions about why adequate stocks and alternative supplies were not secured before reserves dwindled. The Revanth Reddy government blamed decisions taken under the previous BRS regime, particularly the decision to locate Yadadri away from coalfields and design its boilers to use G-9 grade coal.

Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) reportedly produces around two million tonnes of G-9 coal annually, against Yadadri’s requirement of 14 million tonnes. However, retired Electricity Department officials said the agreement made supplying the required coal Singareni’s responsibility, including procurement from other domestic companies and imports if necessary.

They pointed out that Yadadri was a supercritical thermal power station with advanced equipment for optimum power generation, which required quality coal. They attributed the present situation to inadequate supervision and failure to ensure timely supplies.

While the government is focused on importing coal for Yadadri, the shortage is not confined to it. All major thermal stations that require domestic coal have depleted reserves, despite coal-stock management remaining a challenge for the State over the past few months. The government’s focus on the previous regime’s decisions has yet to explain why it failed to make timely arrangements to replenish stocks.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka blamed the closure of older mines and the failure to open new ones under the BRS government for the decline in SCCL production from 70 million tonnes in 2023–24 to around 58 million tonnes in 2025–26. However, the decline should have prompted advance planning for alternative supplies and adequate stock buffers, which were clearly missing.

Meanwhile, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao stated that the shortage was being used to facilitate expensive foreign coal imports. He has also questioned discrepancies involving 40 lakh tonnes of coal allegedly recorded in Singareni’s stock accounts but not physically available.

The government recently signed fresh agreements for coal supplies from the Naini block in Odisha and Mahanadi blocks, but officials privately acknowledged that these arrangements alone would not resolve the immediate shortage. Despite the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister visiting Delhi three times in a month, no concrete measures, including formal requests to the Centre or Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, who represents the State, were taken to facilitate additional supplies.