Bengaluru: Unscheduled power cuts are not new. And the state has been facing them continously for the past couple of months, with the deficit monsoon in North Interior Karnataka causing decreased inflow of water into hydropower plants and forced outages at two major thermal power plants at Ballari and Udupi have led to a massive shortage in the State.
The situation was alleviated a little on Thursday evening as the 600 MW unit at Udupi Thermal Power Station began operations and 500 MW unit of Ballari Thermal Power Station resumed generation on Friday morning, said officials.
Much as power officials would like to increase hydropower generation to meet the shortfall they are hamstrung as the total availability of power from the three major reservoirs of Linganamakki, Supa and Mani is 3,983 million units (MU), down by 3,018 MU compared to the same period last year.
“We have to restrict hydropower generation. Overall, the State is looking at 1,100 MW shortage. While we have issued a letter of intent for 700 MW, we are also trying to delay operational maintenance of the remaining power plants for a few months,” said Additional Chief Secretary P. Ravikumar.
UPCL restarts one generating unit
Meanwhile, one of the two 600 MW thermal plants of Udupi Power Corporation Ltd. (UPCL), a unit of Adani Power Ltd., has started generating power, at Yellur in Udupi district on Thursday. It was generating power to its full capacity.
Both the 600-MW power plants of UPCL had stopped production as silt had got accumulated in front of the pipeline that carries water from the Arabian Sea to the plant.
Speaking to The Hindu here on Friday, K. Kishore Alva, Executive Director (Project Development and Corporate Affairs) of UPCL, said that UPCL had brought pumping machines and 12 pipelines from Delhi as a temporary measure to pump water from the sea to the thermal plant. These pumps and pipelines would be used for the next 15 days.
The work of clearing the silt at the mouth of the pipes in the sea was expected to be completed in the first week of September. This rectification work had been hampered due to rough weather, he added.
“The second 600-MW power plant will start generating power here by September 7. And, UPCL will resume generating power to its full capacity by September 7,” he said. He rubbished allegation of farmers in Ulloor village that effluents had been discharged into the storm water drains by UPCL on Thursday. Mr. Alva said: “There had been some spillage from the fuel pipeline on August 27 and it has been rectified”.
UPCL will give full compensation to farmers for any damage to their crops due to the spillage, Mr. Alva added.
