HYDERABAD: Expressing his ire over the stoppage of power generation at the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant due to a coal shortage, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday directed Energy Department officials to initiate measures to procure coal from the Mahanadi Coalfields and Coal India.
During a review meeting, the chief minister instructed Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to hold a meeting with Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy to address the coal crisis.
The TGGENCO officials were ordered to commence power generation at its full installed capacity at the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant before Dasara. Revanth sought details regarding the supply of quality coal to the thermal power units in the state.
The officials briefed the chief minister that G9 grade coal is required for generation at Yadadri. They noted that Singareni does not have the coal blocks required to produce G9 coal, and there is no possibility of producing it from Singareni in the near future either.
The chief minister then questioned the decision to construct the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant using a specific technology that requires only G9 quality coal, given its unavailability in Singareni. The construction of the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant far away from the pithead (adjacent to coal mines), along with the additional financial burden placed on the state due to coal supply logistics, was reviewed in detail during the meeting.
The officials informed the chief minister that the Yadadri plant was constructed at a distance due to political reasons during the BRS regime. They added that the lack of coal availability was the primary reason for the failure to achieve full-scale power generation at the Yadadri plant.
As per official reports, the additional financial burden on the state government to supply coal to the thermal centre amounted to `40,000 crore.
The chief minister and the deputy chief minister enquired about the possibility of sourcing G9 grade coal from Singareni. The officials clarified that Singareni could not supply G9 coal because the previous government had not participated in the central auctions to secure the necessary blocks.
The officials also informed the meeting that 14 coal blocks at Singareni have already been closed.