JOIN USPower generation hit at RTPS
The power generation at the Raichur Thermal Power Station has come down by 540 MW per day with two of its six units under repair.
Over the last one week, unit 4 and unit 5 have been shutdown due to pipeline damage and overheating of the turbine respectively. According to RTPS officials, power generation will resume at unit 4 in the next 48 hours while it will take a while to restore unit 5.
It is said that overheating has resulted in turbine failure in unit 5. The engineers said that it would take not less than five days for the unit to cool down after which repairs could be taken up.
However, the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) has said that there need not be any concern of load shedding due to the decline in RTPS generation.KPCL Managing Director M R Kamble said that the corporation had taken steps to increase hydel power generation to make up for the loss at RTPS.
“From our side, there should be no concern of load shedding,” he said, adding that the KPCL was confident generating adequate power till June-end.
Sources said that power generation was at its peak at the RTPS and it may have to be scaled down in the coming days. The thermal power units develop technical problems if they are overloaded.
Earlier during the week, RTPS unit 1 was also under repair but it was functioning as on Wedneday. Meanwhile, sources in the RTPS termed ‘not viable,’ the suggestion of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) to replace the existing unit 1 and unit 2 of the thermal power station.
Both the units, said to be not less than 27 years’ old, are the most reliable ones, according to officials. Moreover, replacing these two units would have a cascading effect as the six other units, which are comparatively new, may have to take more load.