In a bid to make the Telangana state self sufficient when it comes to adequate power generation the state government is set to go against the Central government's advice to build power plants.It is now determined to go ahead with imported coal-fired and inefficient subcritical thermal plants. Besides entering into a contentious power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Chhattisgarh government to procure 1,000 MW of power for 12 years, Telangana has awarded contracts for a 1,080 MW project at Manugur in Khammam district and a 4,000 MW plant at Damaracherla in Nalgonda district.

Both are coal-fired thermal power projects, each depending on imported coal for at least half of its fuel requirement. The state has a capacity of 4,365 MW and has proposed to achieve 25,000 MW by the end of 2018, which includes fresh thermal power generation capacity of 4,000 MW that the Union government promised under the AP State Reorganisation Act, 2014. The plant at Manugur also relies on subcritical equipment of 280 MW each, which environmentalists say will add to pollution while activists say its expensive operations and maintenance costs will be a burden on the tax payers.