Indian thermal power reports flag boiler tube leakage clusters after solar-heavy days
Indian thermal power reports dated February 26 and March 1, 2026, document simultaneous forced outages at several super critical coal stations, including Bhadradri, Vijayawada, Simhadri Unit 3, Kudgi, and Krishnapatnam. Each event lists Boiler Tube Leakage as the diagnostic cause, pointing to a common stress factor.
The timing is critical. These Indian thermal power reports align with days of strong solar output followed by steep evening ramps. Grid operators reduced coal output sharply during daylight hours to accommodate must-run renewable injection, then pushed units back toward full load as solar generation collapsed after sunset. Such aggressive cycling introduces thermal and mechanical stress across boiler components.
Legacy super critical units were engineered for steady baseload operation. Persistent cycling causes differential expansion within tube banks, headers, and weld joints. Over time, this degrades material integrity and increases the probability of rupture. The clustering seen in Indian thermal power reports suggests that cycling stress is no longer marginal.
For system planners, this trend matters. When Coal power projects suffer forced outages during evening peaks, reserve margins thin and operational risk increases. The issue is not renewable penetration alone, but how Renewable energy India is being balanced without sufficient buffering or flexible alternatives.EnergylineIndia.com tracks Indian thermal power reports to map operational stress against grid behaviour. The emerging picture shows that current dispatch patterns impose hidden reliability costs on thermal assets, with outage risk concentrated around the dusk transition window, Boiler Tube Leakage, Coal Generation, Solar Integration, Power System Risk.