Bhatti accuses BRS of misleading people on power sector, rules out privatisation

Deputy Chief Minister and Energy Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday accused the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of misleading people on the State’s power sector and strongly ruled out any proposal to privatise power utilities.

He said the government would release documentary evidence every week to counter what he termed ‘false propaganda’ on the Yadadri project and decisions taken by the BRS government.

Addressing a press conference at Praja Bhavan, Mr. Bhatti hit back at criticism by former BRS Minister T. Harish Rao over the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant (YTPP), questioning the previous government’s decision to take up the project without securing adequate coal allocation and supply linkages.

He said coal linkage was as critical to a thermal power plant as land, the detailed project report and technical clearances. The previous government, however, had not adequately assessed the source, quantity, quality and transportation of coal required for Yadadri, he alleged.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka addressing a press conference at Praja Bhavan, in Hyderabad on Wednesday (October 7).
| Photo Credit:
SIDDHANT THAKUR

Mr. Bhatti said an agreement signed between Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. (SCCL) and TSGENCO in April 2016 envisaged Singareni supplying seven million tonnes of the 14 million tonnes of coal required annually by Yadadri. He questioned how the commitment could be met when Singareni’s production capacity of G-9 grade coal was only 1.71 million tonnes in 2022-23.

He also alleged that the previous government had failed to secure new coal blocks or participate effectively in coal block auctions. Fourteen coal blocks were closed between 2014 and 2024, resulting in a reduction of about 15 million tonnes in production, he said.

On the Naini coal block in Odisha, he said the Congress government had initiated steps to commence mining operations, but the coal had already been allocated to other power plants and could not be diverted entirely to Yadadri. The government was seeking a separate allocation for Yadadri from Coal India and the Union government, he said.

Mr. Bhatti said the Yadadri project had also suffered delays because of issues relating to environmental clearances and proceedings before the National Green Tribunal. A fresh public hearing was conducted in February 2024 and the pending issues were subsequently resolved, he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister also said Telangana’s peak power demand had touched 19,892 MW despite the impact of El Nino, but the government had maintained uninterrupted supply without imposing power cuts.