It’s status quo on unscheduled outages

It’s status quo on unscheduled outages

Despite good rainfall over the past few days, storage level at the three major hydel plant reservoirs in the state is still inadequate

TIMES NEWS NETWORK


Bangalore: Despite reasonably good rain over the past few days, the power situation in the state continues to be grim with some hydel units still not getting enough water to start generation and thermal units tripping due to continuous use. Loadshedding is likely to continue at least till the weekend.
Energy minister K S Eshwarappa said water inflow into various dams is being closely watched and a decision on withdrawing load-shedding may be taken soon. But status quo will be maintained for the next four days. “Though the three major hydel reservoirs have been receiving good rainfall the past five days, the storage position is yet to reach the comfort zone,” he added.
As of Tuesday, the three reservoirs — at Linganamakki, Supa and Mani — required another 10 tmc of water to initiate full-fledged hydel power generation. The storage level is a matter of concern as it has just managed to touch about 35 per cent despite good rain. Though the inflow to Linganamakki has increased, the other two have seen a marginal decline.
The total availability of hydel energy from the three reservoirs has increased to 1,855 million units (MU) as against the previous week’s 1,387 MU as on Monday morning.
The government will take a decision next week after assessing the rainfall situation, and the demand and supply from thermal and hydel sources. Despite the early onset of monsoon in Karnataka, the state has suffered 21 per cent deficient rainfall till July 5, according to the Met department.
Power generation from the Linganamakki hydel station will soon restart. The station had stopped producing power as the water inflow had decreased below normal level. He said the inflow to this reservoir in last 24 hours was 58,000 cuses, the highest in recent times.
EXTENDED POWER CUTS IN CITY
Even as the temperature has come down in the city and the usage of electrical appliances like air-conditioners has reduced to the bare minimum, Bescom will continue to impose two-hour power cuts. It was extended to 3-4 hours on Tuesday in several parts.
24x7 SUPPLY FOR INDUSTRIES?
The government may soon provide 24x7 power to industries. To work out the modalities of this move, a meeting will be convened with industry leaders.
Energy minister K S Eshwarappa on Tuesday said representatives of the sector will be invited and their opinion elicited. “The first round of meeting has been held with industry minister Murugesh R Nirani. The second round will soon be held, involving representatives and Escom chiefs to chalk out a programme to provide uninterrupted power to industries,’’ he said.
PLANTS IN UDUPI
About some projects yet to be commissioned, the minister said one hydel power project in Udupi — with a generating capacity of 600 MW — will be commissioned in February 2010. The other 1,500 MW plant in the same place will be commissioned in December 2010.
SPECIAL DISTRICTS
The government is contemplating a scheme to provide 24x7 power supply to districts which have given maximum space for power projects. Uttara Kannada tops the list, followed by Shimoga, Udupi and Bellary.