Hydel projects work overtime

All the three generating units - Sharavathi, Linganamakki and Gerusoppa - have been generating additional power to tide over the shortage.

Sharavathi power house accounts for 24 per cent of the supply to the State, with an average daily generation of 22 million units. The acute shortage of power has necessitated to increase the generation by about five million units a day. The eight units at Sharavathi have been generating 1,035 MW a day; two units at Linganamakki produce 55 MW and Gerusoppa unit has been producing 240 MW a day at present, Karnataka Power Corporation Chief Engineer (Electrical), G Hanumanthappa, told Deccan Herald.

He said Linganamakki reservoir is full to 96.50 per cent of its capacity and there would be no problem even if the present generation is continued till summer. It has stopped raining in Sharavathi valley. The reservoir had 1817.40 feet of water against the maximum level of 1819 feet on Tuesday. Hanumanthappa said it may not be possible to sustain the power generation beyond the next summer.

To add to the woes, generation at the Mahatma Gandhi unit has come to standstill for the past three months. The landslide at the four-bay power channel has h hindered water flow to the power station and the silt removal is still in progress.

The station used to produce 40 MW a day. While the channel would be cleared in about five days, it requires at least 15 days to re-start the generation, said Hanumanthappa.

For the first time, all the four units of the Kali Hydel Project are generating power round the clock.

Earlier, the units were generating power for only three to four hours during the peak hours in the morning and evening. To meet the water requirement for the enhanced power generation at the project, 5,209 cusec of water is being released to Bommanahalli pickup dam from Supa reservoir, every day.

The water level at  Supa reservoir stood 558.58 metre at against the maximum of 564 metre on Tuesday.

The Nagajhari power house of Kali hydel project has now been generating about 17 million units (mu) of power a day. It produced 18.50 mu three days ago, while the record of maximum production is 19 mu. So far the station used to generate only 5 to 10 mu a day, and according to officers it is for the first time in recent years that the turbines have been working round the clock.

The power houses of Kodasalli reservoir have been generating 2.86 mu while those at Kadra reservoir have been producing 3.31 mu a day.

Supa reservoir authorities said that water was being released from the reservoir to facilitate power generation at Kali project.

Almatti falls back

The Almatti reservoir has been generating only 15 MW a day against the installed capacity of 290 MW. The project has five units of 55 MW each and one unit of 15 MW. It requires 43,000 cusec of water to run the turbines at all the units. All of them were functional till recently as the reservoir was full to the brim.

However, the inflow into the reservoir has gone down as rain receded in neighbouring Maharashtra. Consequently, there has been a decline in the quantity of water released for power generation.