To solve the problem of further improving the efficiency and reliability of solid fuel generation in the Russian Federation, it is necessary to solve a number of main problems: ensuring environmental safety, export-oriented nature of the coal industry, low reliability, efficiency, high emissions of NOx , SO2 and particulate matter of existing obsolete equipment. In modern conditions, these problems can be solved comprehensively with the use of relatively low-cost methods in the case of using highly reactive coals, which at the same time have an increased explosion hazard (coals of explosiveness groups 3 and 4). For this reason, currently a large number of coal-fired power plants (mainly in Siberia and the Urals) experience a global transition to the combustion of highly explosive Kuznetsk coal of grades D, G, GD. In the present work, analysis is undertaken of methods and technologies to ensure the explosion and fire safety of fuel preparation systems for combustion at thermal power plants during the transition to these types of fuels, since most of these thermal power plants were initially designed for explosion-proof types of coal (T, 1CC, AH). A number of additional recommendations are developed to the current "rules of explosion safety", taking into account the specifics of technological schemes and the operation of a large number of these thermal power plants, a number of design solutions for equipment that improve the explosion safety of their dust treatment plants. For systems of preparation of finely crushed fuel (5–15 mm), boilers with circulating fluidized bed that are promising for the Russian power industry, and the use of drying installations at thermal power plants to ensure crushing of ordinary high-humidity fuels entering thermal power plants, a number of measures have been proposed that increase the fire safety of such installations.