The Hindu : Major power crisis looms

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 02, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Major power crisis looms

By Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

The fast depleting water level in the Anathodu reservoir of the Sabarigiri hydroelectric project exposes mounds of earth underneath.

PATHANAMTHITTA Feb. 1. Kerala is heading for a major power crisis following the fast depleting water level in reservoirs of various hydro-electric projects with the early onset of summer this time.

Close on the heels of reports on the likelihood of the NTPC plant at Kayamkulam being shut down due to saline water intrusion, the reservoirs of all the hydel projects in the State are drying up fast, posing the threat of a virtual breakdown in the State's power generation.

According to Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) sources, the effective storage in the reservoirs of various hydel power stations in the State as on January 30 will be sufficient to generate only 1,148.29 million units (MU) of power. During the same period in 2002, 2,231.07 MU was generated. The total hydel power generation in the State on January 30 was a mere 10.0650 MU against the previous year's figure of 17.7027 MU--a shortage of 7.7 MU, costing Rs. 3.08 crores at the NTPC rate of Rs. 4 per unit. The effective water storage of the Idukki reservoir as on January 30 was only 518.59 MU. This was 1,237.93 MU on the same day in the previous year. Similarly, the effective storage at the Kakki and Anathodu reservoirs of the Sabarigiri hydel project as on January 30 was 262.4 MU which was 501.12 MU in the previous year and that of the Edamalayar reservoir 79.87 MU against its previous year's figure of 144.64 MU.

As per the State's present power generation pattern of 10 MU per day, the effective storage of 1,148 MU will be exhausted in the next 75 days, with water for generating 400 MU to be kept in reserve, the sources said. The power generation at Idukki on January 30 was only 2.3 MU while that at Sabarigiri, Sholayar and Edamalayar have been recorded at 2.72 MU, 0.8635 MU and 1.016 MU respectively. Experts say that an option before the KSEB is to restrict the daily hydel power generation to 6.5 MU, raising the power purchase by another 3.5 MU in view of the impending crisis. However, the KSEB is most unlikely to raise the existing power-cut duration as more power-cuts mean more revenue loss to the crisis-ridden Board, they said.

There are allegations that neither the Government nor the KSEB has taken any effective step to ensure the State's annual share of over 20 TMC inter-State water despite the acute water scarcity and power crisis.

Many people's representatives hailing from the Chalakkudy river basin too allegedly have been apathetic in ensuring the State's due share of the Kerala Sholayar water from the Tamil Nadu Sholayar.

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