Singareni’s lack of quality and quantity of coal forces Genco to seek supply of 5 MT from CIL, MCL

HYDERABAD

Telangana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (TG-Genco) has requested the power ministry to supply an additional 5 million tonnes of coal to its thermal power plants with the approval of the coal ministry.

In a communication to the MP Secretary recently, TG-Genco Chairman and Managing Director S. Harish said that all its thermal power plants have coal linkages with Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) with a long-term coal linkage of 28.87 million tonnes per annum.

Blocks VI. and VII. however, the stages of the 500 megawatt 800 MW Kothagudem Thermal Power Plant and the 5×800 MW Yadadri Thermal Power Plant, four units of which are already in production, are intended to use higher grade (G9/G10) coal. However, insufficient supply of quality coal blocks operation at partial load, which significantly affects their production.

With expected peak power consumption of over 260 gigawatts likely to be affected over the coming months, TG-Genco’s coal-based thermal units would have to operate at their rated capacities to meet the increased demand. The commissioning/commercial operation date of the fifth YTPS unit is scheduled for next month and operating all five units would require about 50,000 tons of coal per day.

Stating that the connection materialization from SCCL is only 76% and the quality of materialization with respect to coal grade as per Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) is around 40% in 2025-26, he said the generation at Genco station has been severely affected due to lack of quality as well as quantity. SCCL has already informed that it is unable to supply higher quality coal as per Genco’s demand, it could meet the coal requirement of only three YTPS units in the long run.

For the remaining two YTPS units, SCCL has proposed to Genco to acquire coal linkages from alternative sources such as Coal India Ltd through long-term linkage to ensure availability of higher quality coal and reduce dependence on SCCL’s limited resources of high quality coal.

Ground reserves of Genco thermal plants last only four days, with only limited replenishment, against the Central Electricity Authority’s norms to maintain ground reserves for at least 26 days. The CEA was apprised of the situation and in turn suggested to Genco to take up the matter with CIL and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd regarding supply of additional 5 million tonnes of coal to Genco’s thermal power plants.

Published – 29 Aug 2026 0:28 IST