THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala State Electricity Board Limited plans to build a second powerhouse in Idukki by 2028 which will cost Rs 2,700 crore. Once it is commissioned, the board will be able to generate an extra 800 MW of power. Power Minister K Krishnankutty announced this on Monday after receiving the project report from board chairman B Ashok at Vydyuthi Bhavan here.
If the existing powerhouse has got six generators, the new plant will have four generators. Once the second powerhouse is commissioned, the Idukki project will emerge as the country’s largest hydroelectric plant with a capacity to generate 1,580 MW of power.
For quite sometime, the state government has been mulling over setting up a second powerhouse as excess water is flowing into Idukki reservoir from Mullaperiyar dam. Also, the recent coal crisis experienced in North Indian states has also prompted the board to expedite the preparation of the project report by WAPCOS Ltd under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
“Apart from the existing 780 MW generated by the present powerhouse, 800 MW will be generated by the second powerhouse. The project report received will be submitted before the state government,” said Krishnankutty. The board is planning to generate more power during the peak four hours in the evening. Board officials have said the first-stage environment impact study will be initiated next month once the approval for the pre-feasibility report comes.
Currently, steps are on to get the detailed project report and the requisite clearances of the Union Jal Shakti ministry by September 2022. Nine approvals from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and Central Water Commission for pre-feasibility report are expected by early 2023. The power minister also said 34.6 MW additional power could be generated in the first 100 days of the present LDF government.