Fire mishap at YTPS Unit-I; major loss averted

A TV-grab of the fire mishap in the Unit-II of Yadadri Thermal Power Station near Veerlapalem in Nalgonda district late on Sunday night.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT

HYDERABAD

A major disaster was averted at the 5×800 megawatt Yadadri Thermal Power Station (YTPS) — under construction near Veerlapalem village of Damaracherla mandal in Nalgonda district — late on Sunday (April 27, 2025) night with timely dousing of fire in the Unit-I, which has been under the trial run for the last few months.

According to officials of the Telangana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (TG-Genco), the oil in the Unit-I boiler caught fire following an accidental electrical spark. The fire spread to different parts of the unit spread across three floors within minutes. However, the plant engineers’ swift reaction to put off fire with mobile and portable extinguishers helped douse it without causing huge damage.

The Unit-II of the power plant is already under commercial operation, though it is yet to be inaugurated formally, from December 24. The trial run of the Unit-I is in progress since November 2024. Official sources said that the Unit-I has generated 278.51 million units and supplied to the grid till March-end. Similarly, the Unit-II has generated 498.73 million units of energy and supplied to the grid till March-end.

The management of the Genco and the State Government have planned to start all the five units and synchronise them with the grid by May this year, but various issues have delayed their commercial operation.

One of the main reasons cited, according to sources, is the delay in the completion of the railway track to the power plant to bring the raw material (coal) from Singareni mines. As a result, it is being transported by road now for the consumption of the Unit-II and trial run of the Unit-I. Lack of sufficient number of engineers to man the plant’s operation is also being cited as the other major reason.