JOIN USThe south-west monsoon, while has left trails of destruction in parts of Kerala, has also led to a significant jump in water levels in the state’s reservoirs.
According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), four major reservoirs with hydel power capacity—Idukki, Idamalayar, Kakki and Periyar—have recorded a 30 to 45 per cent jump in live capacity storage at full reservoir level.
According to the latest CWC bulletin, Idamalayar (61 per cent storage), Idukki (50 per cent), Kakki and Periyar (50 per cent each) have benefited from this year’s monsoon.
The figures for the corresponding period last year were 14, 15, 12 and 26 per cent respectively.
The water level at Idukki, which is also the state’s biggest hydel reservoir, stood at 2,354 feet on July 11, the bulletin said. The four reservoirs are among the 85 important reservoirs across the country monitored in the CWC bulletin.
In the backdrop of filling position of reservoirs, Kerala has shown a 87 per cent increase on the average storage over the past 10 years, next to Uttarakhand (265 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (240 per cent). The storage in the state’s 16 reservoirs is at 58 per cent of the total capacity.
The power situation in Kerala that has just come out of a harsh summer has seen a positive trend with the monsoons.
The state’s reservoirs can together generate around 4,140 million units of power. According to sources in the State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC), Kerala’s reservoirs have the capability to generate 2,393.269 mu as of Sunday. For the corresponding period in 2012, the figure stood at a low of 677.47 mu.
With the reservoirs clocking more than half of their total generation capacity, Kerala State Electricity Board is looking ahead with hope.
DH News Service