As a consequence of the development of deep oil refining in the Russian Federation, an urgent search is underway for rational uses for petroleum coke in the power industry. For operating pulverized coal boilers of thermal power plants (TPPs), petroleum coke is an extremely undesirable fuel due to its low reactivity and high vanadium and sulfur content, which makes it very difficult to ensure regulatory emissions and prevent intense corrosion of heating surfaces. Based on accumulated experimental and analytical work, it is recommended to use combined-cycle plants with integrated hearth gasification of coke. In the article, a number of comparative characteristics of the hearth gasification of petroleum coke are presented. The possibility of rapidly implementing pilot integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) units for petroleum coke gasification is considered as a means of permitting the effective modernization of obsolete coal-fired power plants in the Russian Federation. Considerations are expressed about the nature of priority work in the Russian Federation on the decarbonization of energy industries, which is currently being aggressively promoted in Western countries.