On the day Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy threatened to suspend his top energy officials over power cuts, two giant motors at the Palamuru–Rangareddy lift-irrigation scheme ran for less than three hours before stopping, reportedly because of low voltage. The El Niño crisis is revealing a structural weakness: Telangana’s irrigation depends on electricity, and its power system is short of coal and capacity.
Telangana’s El Niño crisis entered a new phase on Wednesday, 14 October. For days, the debate had centred on water: near-empty reservoirs, rationing in Hyderabad, and warnings that rain may not return until mid-2027. Now it is about electricity, and the two problems have become inseparable.
At a review meeting on drought, El Niño, power and drinking water at the MCRHRD Institute in Hyderabad, the Chief Minister warned that he would suspend senior officials over continuing disruptions, Telangana Today and Siasat reported. Siasat named the officials as Navin Mittal, Special Chief Secretary for Energy, and Dr S. Harish, chairman and managing director of the Telangana Power Generation Corporation (TG GENCO). The Chief Minister asked why generation had not been raised in anticipation of shortages, and why the Yadadri Thermal Power Station was not running at full capacity despite coal linkages from the Naini and Mahanadi blocks. He ordered uninterrupted round-the-clock supply and an action plan running to June 2027, and he again compared the crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic. Neither outlet carried direct quotations. Ministers are due to meet on the El Niño impact on Thursday, 15 October.
Three hours of water
The same afternoon, Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao and local legislators switched on two motors at the Narlapur pump house of the Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, a project that lifts Krishna water to the uplands of southern Telangana. According to Telangana Today, the pumps began about three hours late and stopped at 5:50 pm. Officials did not explain the halt on record; they told farmers unofficially that “low voltage” was disrupting operation.
Large lift-irrigation pumps draw very heavy loads, and low voltage can damage motors or trip protection systems, so operators have little choice but to shut down. Telangana’s flagship irrigation schemes, including Kaleshwaram and Palamuru–Rangareddy, are among the most electricity-intensive in India because they lift water through large heights rather than letting it flow by gravity. In a normal year that design is a strength. In a year when both water and power are scarce, it becomes a vulnerability.
The water itself is limited. The Hans India reported reservoir levels on 14 October, in thousand million cubic feet (TMC): – Jurala: 7.32 – Nagarjuna Sagar: 188 – Pulichintala: 28 – Sriram Sagar: 42 – Mid Manair: 23 – Lower Manair: 15 – Sripada Yellampally: 18 – Nizam Sagar: 10
The irrigation department said levels in all Krishna and Godavari basin projects are below normal. Demand is large: the Mahatma Gandhi Kalwakurthy scheme alone needs water for 4.6 lakh acres, and Nettempadu and Bhima for 2 lakh acres each. Releases from Godavari-basin projects will be made only on the Agriculture Department’s recommendation. Farmers say the next 20 days are critical as crops reach harvest.
A coal-short grid
The power shortfall has been building for weeks. On 5 October, Telangana Today reported a peak demand of 19,982 MW on 30 September, against a usual level of about 15,000 MW. Coal stocks at state plants were about 5.57 lakh tonnes, against a minimum requirement of 20.63 lakh tonnes. Outages had taken 1,870 MW offline, at Bhadradri Unit III (270 MW), Kothagudem Unit 12 (800 MW) and an 800 MW unit at Yadadri. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has acknowledged coal shortages and said power was unavailable on the exchange “even at Rs 15 per unit”, the paper noted.
Yadadri, a 4,000 MW station of five 800 MW units, is meant to be the backbone of Telangana’s own generation. Earlier reports in South First suggested it requires a grade of coal that Singareni Collieries cannot supply in sufficient quantity, a mismatch the Chief Minister’s question about Naini and Mahanadi coal seems to target. NSH has not independently verified the plant’s current output.
The national picture offers little relief. As NSH reported on 14 October, the Central Electricity Authority says 87 plants across India hold critically low coal stocks and that national demand is 45–50 GW above last year’s level.
Fixing the last mile
The distribution utilities are trying to limit losses. On 14 October the chairman of the Southern Power Distribution Company (TGSPDCL), Jitesh V. Patil, ordered that every distribution-transformer failure be logged in the SAP system within 24 hours and repaired quickly from zonal stocks, NewsMeter reported. A second failure of the same transformer will trigger a mandatory inspection, and permanent fixes must be estimated within a week. Field staff, not farmers, must carry replacement units. He cited a forecast of eight months of water shortage and heat.
These are sensible measures, but they address failures in the local network, not the underlying shortage of generation.
The policy question
The episode illustrates a lesson energy planners call the water–energy nexus. Water systems need power to pump and treat water, and thermal power plants need water for cooling. In a drought both are stressed at once. Telangana’s response so far has relied on administrative pressure. More durable options exist, but each takes time: – scheduling pumping for off-peak hours or solar hours; – solarising agricultural feeders and pumps under PM-KUSUM; – securing coal of the right grade on long-term contracts; – shifting crops away from water-intensive paddy.
The Chief Minister’s statement that disruptions had occurred also marks a political shift. Telangana Today noted that he had earlier denied power cuts to agriculture.
What to watch
Decisions from today’s ministers’ meeting; Yadadri’s generation; whether Narlapur pumping resumes; and whether the northeast monsoon delivers meaningful rain over the Krishna catchments.
Dr Ramu Suravajjula
Key facts
- Review meeting (14 Oct; Telangana Today, 23:34 IST; Siasat, 22:40 IST): suspension threatened for the Energy Special Chief Secretary and the TG GENCO CMD; 24×7 farm power ordered; action plan to June 2027.
- Narlapur pumps: two motors switched on 14 Oct and stopped at 5:50 pm; low voltage cited unofficially.
- Reservoirs (The Hans India, 15 Oct, 01:47 IST): Jurala 7.32 TMC, Nagarjuna Sagar 188, Sriram Sagar 42; all Krishna and Godavari projects below normal.
- Grid background (Telangana Today, 5 Oct): peak 19,982 MW on 30 Sep; coal 5.57 lakh t against 20.63 lakh t required; 1,870 MW offline.
- TGSPDCL: 24-hour transformer-failure logging; mandatory inspection after a repeat failure.
