Hyderabad: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, highlighting key developments in India’s power sector, has raised concerns over Telangana’s energy management and governance, stating in a media address on Friday that India is witnessing record electricity generation, with 500 GW of output, 74 per cent of which comes from thermal power stations, and that coal reserves sufficient for 22 days are available at power plants and companies.
He emphasised the success of central schemes like PM-KUSUM, which enables farmers to generate their own electricity through solar pump sets, and PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, which has already surpassed its targets, benefiting lakhs of households, before detailing the Centre’s support for Telangana’s solar potential by confirming the approval of 450 MW decentralised solar power plants and the sanction of 40,000 rooftop solar systems of 2 kW capacity each under the PM Surya Ghar scheme following his request to Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Joshi. Pralhad Joshi confirmed the sanction of 80 MW aggregated capacity, with 20,000 units to be installed in the first phase, and this initiative, aimed at promoting clean energy and reducing household electricity costs, will be implemented in two phases under the Utility Led Aggregation model, with the Telangana Renewable Energy Development Corporation serving as the nodal implementing agency, overseeing vendor operations including Engineering, Procurement, and Construction and five years of maintenance, ensuring consumers will not be required to make any financial contribution and ownership of the solar assets will be transferred to them from day one. Turning to thermal power, Reddy recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Ramagundam NTPC thermal project worth Rs 12,000 crore in 2023, and although the second phase, comprising 3×800 MW units, is underway with 80 per cent of the generated power earmarked for Telangana, the state government has agreed to purchase only one-third of the output, leading Reddy to urge full procurement to meet rising demand, which he warned is growing at 9.8 per cent annually and is projected to reach 33,773 MW by 2030.
He further noted NTPC’s completion of 100 MW floating solar plants and ongoing construction of over 56 MW solar capacities, including a 121 MW plant in Ramagundam, and highlighted that NLC India Ltd is ready to invest Rs 10,000 crore in solar projects in Telangana, pending land allocation by the state. Reddy criticised the past BRS and current Congress governments for pushing Distribution Companies and generation units into debt, citing Rs 30,000 crore dues and Rs 42,000 crore owed to Singareni Collieries, and demanded justice for Singareni workers and their families, before concluding with a political critique where he accused Congress of opportunism, alleging that minorities were ignored for two years and only now, ahead of the Jubilee Hills by-elections, was a ministerial post offered to a minority leader, condemning the misuse of power for electoral gains and calling for responsible governance focused on the state’s future.
