Power mess to worsen

The shutdown is to effect urgent repairs pending for the last two years, sources in the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) which operates the plant in Shimoga district, said. The plant, commissioned in 1964, is close to half a century old.

According to the KPCL’s plan, the shutdown is scheduled for October. Official sources in KPCL said at best, the shutdown may be rescheduled considering the acute power crisis the state was facing, but was inevitable.

The closure of the station with an installed capacity of 1035 MW of power will have an instantaneous impact on the power supply to the State, with load-shedding increasing exponentially.

The State is already reeling under power shortage with the thermal power stations not getting sufficient coal from Singareni colliery, thanks to the unrest in Telangana.

Sources in KPCL said the maintenance of the station, postponed for many years, could not be put off any longer, lest the capacity and capability of the station degenerate further.

The decision of the KPCL has been conveyed to the electricity supply companies (escoms).

Sources said that the repair work at the hydel station involves clearing the accumulated silt in the main canal supplying water to run the turbines and effect civil works to prevent such accumulation of silt and other material which can hamper the turbine blade and even cause damage to them.

Of the five million units that hydel power contributes to the electricity supply system across Karnataka, the Sharavathi generating station alone contributes 10 to 15 million units, with at least 50 per cent to the peak power load.

The shutdown of the plant, highly placed sources in KPCL admitted, will cut power supply to half of the State during peak hours. Hydel power is the cheapest, sustainable and renewable sources of power costing 30 paise per unit to produce.

So the Sharavathi closure will not only aggravate power shortage but also inflate the State’s power bill to the breaking point, as the power utilities will be forced to make purchases from other sources.

The Sharavathi Power Project (SHPP), the backbone of Karnataka’s power generation in the State, is the oldest power station after Shivasamudram, and has 10 units with an installed capacity of 1035 MW.