With an increased height, power generation at the reservoir is expected to double.
Almatti Dam is the main reservoir of the Upper Krishna project. The present height of 519.6 metres allows storage of 123.36 tmc ft of water in the reservoir. The storage can go up to 223.53 tmc ft if the height is increased to 524.25 metres in pursuance of the award.
The reservoir has a dead storage level of 17.22 tmc ft. The Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) powerhouse located on the right toe of the reservoir now generates a minimum of 180 million units (MU) a year. The additional storage level will increase power generation to 361 MU, KPCL engineer A L Maradur told Deccan Herald.
Below capacity
The Rs 800-crore powerhouse constructed in 2004 has five units of 55 MW each and one unit of 15 MW, and thus can generate 290 MW a day. The infrastructure has been constructed considering the height of the reservoir to be 524.25 meters. It requires 50,000 cusecs of water to keep all the six units running.
The reservoir has to meet the irrigation needs of the command area, and at present only one turbine is functioning since a mere 6,000 cusecs of water is being released for the purpose.
Official sources said power generation hinges on the water requirement for irrigation purposes and not on the water level in the reservoir. Letting water through turbines would result in the overflowing of Narayanapur reservoir and subsequently water reaching Andhra Pradesh. The powerhouse had set a record of sorts by generating 635 MU in 2008 (as against an average annual generation of 500 MU) following a deluge in the river. The generation was 448 MU for 2010.
The lift irrigation projects (Chimmallagi, Guttibasavanna and others) down the reservoir also bolster the prospects of enhanced power generation.