States » SouthPosted at: Oct 7 2026 10:11PM


No proposal to privatise Telangana power utilities: Dy CM Bhatti

Hyderabad, Oct 7 (UNI) Telangana Deputy Chief Minister and Power Minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday rejected the opposition's allegations of privatisation of power utilities and clarified that the Congress government had no proposal to privatise DISCOMs, TRANSCO or GENCO.
Addressing the media at Praja Bhavan, Bhatti said the government was committed to strengthening public sector power utilities.
He blamed the previous government for the delay in the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant, alleging that adequate coal allocation and supply arrangements had not been ensured. Bhatti said Telangana's peak power demand had reached an all-time high of 19,892 MW despite the impact of El Niño, while the State continued uninterrupted power supply without imposing cuts.
He credited GENCO, TRANSCO and DISCOM employees and officials with meeting the increased demand.
He said an agreement in 2016 provided for Singareni to supply seven million tonnes of coal annually to Yadadri, while another agreement envisaged importing the remaining seven million tonnes through MSTC.
However, the arrangements were not implemented, he said.
Singareni's G-9 coal production capacity was only 1.71 million tonnes in 2022-23 against the 14 million tonnes required annually for Yadadri, making the proposed supply commitment impractical, Bhatti said.
The Deputy Chief Minister also alleged that the previous government failed to secure new coal blocks for Singareni.
He said 14 coal blocks were closed between 2014 and 2024, reducing coal production by around 15 million tonnes.
At the same time, Singareni's production and dispatch increased from 52.66 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 62.07 million tonnes in 2025-26, he said.
Bhatti said the State government was pursuing a separate coal allocation for Yadadri and had written to Coal India, the concerned union government committee and union Minister G Kishan Reddy in this regard.
He said power generated from Yadadri costs Rs 6.66 per unit, compared with Rs 4.17 per unit from Kakatiya Thermal Power Plant and Rs 4.60 to Rs 5.10 per unit from Bhadradri Thermal Power Plant, adding that the higher cost would ultimately burden consumers.
On the delay in commissioning the Yadadri plant, Bhatti alleged that changes in the proposed coal mix and subsequent proceedings before the National Green Tribunal contributed to the delay.
He said the Congress government conducted a fresh public hearing in February 2024, resolved the pending issues and accelerated commissioning of the units.
Bhatti said the government would place documentary evidence before the public every week on decisions taken by the previous government relating to the power sector and the Yadadri project.
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Tags: #No proposal to privatise Telangana power utilities: Dy CM Bhatti
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