No coal shortage in Telangana thermal power plants

HYDERABAD: Severe coal shortage being faced by thermal power plants in several states in the country did not affect Telangana. Thanks to adequate coal supplies from the state-run Singareni Collieries Company Ltd,  one of the largest coal mining companies in the country, thermal power plants in Telangana currently have stocks available that can meet the needs for the next two weeks unlike thermal power plants in other states which have stocks for just two or three days.

Speaking to this newspaper, B. Lakshmaiah, director, thermal, TS Genco, said, "We have adequate coal stocks at Kakatiya, Ramagundam and Singareni thermal power plants which can last for nearly two weeks. We are also receiving adequate supplies from Singareni. This apart, we have captive coal mines for Kakatiya thermal plant and as such we don't see any major problem in Telangana so far."

However, he said, the problem may crop up if the Centre instructs Singareni to divert a major portion of its coal stocks to other states to meet their demand.

Singareni Collieries CMD N. Sridhar, in a press release issued on October 4, said, "Thermal power stations in Telangana which have agreements with Singareni have one week to 10 days coal stocks and since there is a huge deficit of coal stocks at thermal power stations in other states, Singareni should play its part and achieve more than the set targets of coal production and transport. Thermal power stations in states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have coal stocks for only two or three days and hence there is a huge demand for Singareni coal from 15 big thermal stations of other states."