OHPC Encases Rain Bhubaneswar : 15/June/2013 Though playing havoc in other areas, the heavy downpour in the catchment areas of Indravati and Kolab has become a boon for power sector with authorities of Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) planning to generate more power from both these hydro power stations for sale. As the low pressure has made the monsoon active across the State and rainfalls are fairly widespread, water level in major reservoirs has increased much to the relief of the State-owned power-generating PSUs. Indravati reservoir’s Minimum Drawdown Level (MDDL) 626.8 was meter but it has water now up to 631.4 metres. At least 6 metres, i.e., 20 ft more water is available now after the week long rains. Similarly, Upper Kolab reservoir is fed by Kolab River, which has received huge inflow of flood waters, causing the water level in the reservoir to touch 850.2 metres against the earlier level of 844 meters. In case of Balimela reservoir, now the water level has reached 1480 ft when its MDDL is 1440 ft. The reservoir has therefore 40 feet of more water for extra power generation, which will provide more cushioning to the OHPC authorities, said the official. The OHPC authorities are planning to sell surplus hydro power to neighboring states as the demand for power has come down in the state with the break of monsoon, said a senior official of GRIDCO, which sells power to various entities. In view of this situation, the authorities are hopeful of doing good business of surplus power. Well before rains, the peak demand was hovering around 2500 MW to 2700 MW during the day and 3400-3500 MW in the peak hours, which has plummeted to 3000 MW, in peak time, said the officer. The state will be able to sell 300/400 MW extra power daily and earn profits for the power utility-GRIDCO, said the official. Though the installed capacity of Hydro Power in the state is 2085 MW, OHPC was generating 1000 MW during the summer season owing to poor hydro condition of the reservoir. Earlier, to due poor hydro management, authorities were unable to generate even 500 MW during previous summers. The efforts of Pradeep Kumar Jena, Commissioner-cum-Secretary Energy and Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Principal Secretary Water Resources in properly management of waters yielded positive results and helped the state save from heavy power shutdown during the summer season, said an analyst of the sector. Now the authorities are planning to go for 1700 MW hydro power generation from these power stations. There will be no power regulations and GRIDCO is all set to boost its bottom line by selling power to the needy states, said the official.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:27:00 +0000