Telangana Genco Resumes Unit IV Trial Runs at Srisailam Hydropower Plant

Telangana Genco has successfully resumed trial runs for Unit IV of the Srisailam hydroelectric power station at Srisailam, following years of shutdown caused by a major fire accident. The 150-megawatt unit underwent a successful trial run on Monday, according to Telangana Genco Chairman and Managing Director S Harish. Official sources stated that trial runs will continue for several more days before the unit is put into full operational service.

The resumption of trial testing comes after multiple previous attempts had failed. Unit IV had been completely gutted during a severe fire incident at the powerhouse in August 2020. The tragic mishap resulted in the deaths of nine people, including plant engineers and two employees of a private agency.

According to official details, the August 2020 fire originated at Unit IV itself before damaging other parts of the plant. While Unit IV was completely destroyed, Units I and II sustained partial damage. Telangana Genco successfully repaired Units I and II within a couple of months of the incident to restore early power generation, while Units III and V were subsequently restored in a phased manner.

The Srisailam hydroelectric power station consists of six units in total, with each unit possessing a power generation capacity of 150 megawatts. Together, the plant's six units are capable of generating approximately 900 megawatts of electricity. Telangana Genco typically relies on the facility to produce hydropower during the monsoon season when Srisailam receives heavy water inflows.

Following Monday's successful trial, Telangana Genco plans to perform further tests over the coming days to ensure stability before fully commissioning the unit. Chairman and Managing Director S Harish confirmed that additional trial runs would be conducted, paving the way for Unit IV to rejoin the rest of the operational units at the Srisailam powerhouse.