Hyderabad: Former Minister and BRS deputy floor leader T. Harish Rao on Thursday blamed the Congress government for Telangana power cuts, alleging that poor planning and lack of foresight had pushed the State into a power crisis.
Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan, Harish Rao claimed farmers, students and traders were facing severe hardship because of unannounced electricity outages.
He remarked that power cuts were once considered news during the BRS regime. However, he alleged that uninterrupted power supply had become news under the Congress government.
Telangana power cuts linked to coal shortage, says Harish Rao
Harish Rao said farmers staged protests outside substations in 11 districts to oppose the power cuts. He alleged that inadequate coal supplies to thermal power stations had disrupted electricity generation.
Further, he claimed the BRS had earlier warned the government about dwindling Singareni coal stocks through presentations. However, he alleged that the government failed to act.
According to Harish Rao, Kothagudem, Kakatiya, Bhadradri and Yadadri thermal stations had coal reserves for only six to seven days. He also claimed coal shortages had halted generation at Units 1 and 4 of the Yadadri plant. In addition, he alleged that maintenance failures had affected production at the Bhadradri power station.
Harish Rao questioned why thermal plants with a combined installed capacity of 7,180 MW generated only 3,190 MW on the previous day. He claimed the plants were operating at just 44 percent of their capacity.
Meanwhile, he accused the government of failing to manage coal supplies, reservoir storage and thermal power generation. He also alleged that the State was purchasing nearly 80 million units of electricity from the power exchange at high prices despite having its own generation capacity.
The BRS leader further alleged that the Singareni website had stopped displaying details of coal production, supply and quality. He claimed Telangana was receiving lower-quality coal while better-quality coal was being supplied to neighbouring states.
Harish Rao demanded uninterrupted 24-hour three-phase power supply for farmers. He warned that the BRS would launch statewide protests if the government failed to resolve the issue.