Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy accused the Telangana Government of planning to raise fresh loans under the pretext of forming a new power distribution company without a clear roadmap to clear pending dues.
“Telangana’s power distribution companies have poor ratings. The government is trying to transfer ₹26,000 crore of GENCO – power generation company dues and another ₹9,000 crore loan to the new entity. Meanwhile, ₹47,000 crore remains unpaid to Singareni Collieries,” he said at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.
He warned that Singareni Collieries’ inability to contribute to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) has affected welfare mesaures like providing clean drinking water, employment, and agriculture in mining-affected areas.
Mr. Kishan Reddy criticised the government for failing to support power utilities despite promises of attracting global investments at the recent Rising Telangana summit. The budget allocation is only ₹21,000 crore, most of it for free schemes. He noted that future power demand is projected at one lakh MW, but there is no infrastructure for generation and distribution.
The Minister also slammed the government for neglecting the renewable energy goals of generating 20,000 MW by 2030 and 40,000 MW by 2035. He questioned plans to set up private-sector plants, saying costs would burden consumers. Instead, he suggested a Power Purchase Agreement with NTPC, which has completed 1,600 MW plants at a cost of ₹11,000 crore and is ready to add 2,400 MW.
Highlighting Centre’s efforts, he said that under ‘Saubhagya Yojana’, 5.15 lakh households in Telangana received electricity connections, and under ‘UJALA’, 3.14 lakh LED tubelights and 28 lakh bulbs were supplied. A 100 MW NTPC floating plant is operational, and a 176 MW solar plant will be completed soon.
Published – December 18, 2025 07:35 pm IST
