THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd (KSEB) will hold its post-flood water analysis on Tuesday to prepare for the northeast monsoon, even as hydel generation continues on a high note with dams almost 90 per cent full. Water analyses related to hydel reservoirs are a monthly affair. But Tuesday’s assessment assumes importance in the wake of the floods and the upcoming northeast monsoon, which contributes 30 per cent to the annual rainfall in the state.
The results will be discussed with the State Disaster Management Authority and the Dam Safety Authority to decide whether to continue to keep the dam shutters open and maintain the present high pace of hydel generation to use up excess water, KSEB CMD N S Pillai said.
As on Saturday, the combined storage in hydel dams stood at 89 per cent full to capacity and internal hydropower generation continued to be in excess of power imports. The storage in Idukki alone stood at 90 per cent. All the dams together have enough storage to generate 3,687 million units (MU).
There is also another pressing reason why the KSEB is running its hydel stations full tilt. It would take another three-four months to get several medium and small hydel projects that were damaged in the floods back in operation. This includes the 180 MW Lower Periyar, the 36.4 MW Poringalkuthu and the 32 MW Panniyar hydel projects.
“Projects worth a total 217 megawatts (MW) continue to be under water. But we can manage without additional power purchases as consumption is relatively lower during the rainy season,” Pillai said.
Maniyar dam safe
The Maniyar dam in Pathanamthitta is safe and there is absolutely no cause for concern, Irrigation Department authorities said on Friday. The dam and allied structures had sustained minor damage in the rain and floods.