Hyderabad, Sept. 29: BRS working president K T Rama Rao (KTR) has questioned Telangana’s reported plan to import coal amid shortages at thermal power plants. He raised concerns over the higher cost of imported coal compared with supplies from Singareni Collieries.
KTR alleged that the proposed imports would increase the financial burden on the state. He questioned why the government was considering overseas supplies when domestic coal was available at lower prices.
KTR Questions Cost of Imported Coal
KTR said Singareni coal was available at around Rs 3,800 per tonne, while imported coal could cost more than Rs 9,000 per tonne.
He criticised the reported proposal and questioned who would benefit from the decision. He also asked why Telangana consumers should bear the additional cost.
KTR recalled that the previous BRS government, led by K Chandrashekhar Rao, supplied uninterrupted power during its 9.5-year tenure using Singareni coal. He also noted that Singareni supplied coal to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, official sources said the Telangana government was considering importing up to 50 lakh tonnes of coal from Australia and Indonesia to address shortages at thermal power plants.
Domestic coal reportedly costs between Rs 3,800 and Rs 4,200 per tonne. However, imported coal could cost more than Rs 10,000 per tonne, excluding additional transportation expenses.
Reports indicated that Telangana power plants operated by TGGenco had only three to four days of coal stocks. This was significantly below the recommended stock of 21 days.
Genco officials reportedly suggested procuring additional coal from Coal India and other domestic sources, including the Naini coal block. However, efforts had reportedly remained at the correspondence stage with Mahanadi Coalfields.
Genco engineers also reportedly raised concerns about the use of imported coal in thermal power plants. They warned that importing 50 lakh tonnes could add around Rs 3,000 crore to the financial burden, apart from transportation costs.
The reported proposal has raised questions about coal procurement costs and the measures being considered to address Telangana’s power supply concerns.
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