The Hindu Business Line : Rain brightens Kerala's hydel power prospects

THE hydel power situation in the State has improved as the inflow has picked up significantly in recent days following copious rains in the catchment areas of all the hydroelectric projects.

With the storage level in the reservoirs of these projects as on Friday morning, 1,033 million units could be generated. However, on July 15 last year the storage level was so good that 1,712 million units could be generated. The rise in water level during the same period last year was because of early onset of southwest monsoon, a senior KSEB source told Business Line.

He said the average inflow during the past 10 years was enough to generate 1,283 million units. With the daily inflow, at present, 50 million units can be generated. According to the current weather forecast, there would be normal monsoon this year and if that is translated into reality the water storage in the hydel projects would go up to generate 6,000-7,000 million units.

The positive trend signals that the State would be able to manage without thermal power this year also. Last year, thermal power was not drawn from the NTPC's Kayamkulam thermal plant and the BSES plant here. Thus, the State's daily demand, 33 million units currently, can be met from its hydro-electric projects and by drawing from the Central grid, he said.

The KSEB has stopped drawing power from the naphtha-based thermal power stations because of the high cost, which has gone up substantially by about 16 per cent following high excise duty on naphtha.

According to him, the variable cost for generating one unit of power by the NTPC's Kayamkulam thermal power plant would now come to Rs 4.75. In addition, the State Government has to pay Rs 9 crore a month to the NTPC towards fixed cost even if the State does not draw any power from the plant.

For want of takers for its power, the NTPC has shut down its naphtha-based 350 MW thermal plant at Kayamkulam from July 1. KSEB and Tamil Nadu were lifting power from this plant. Since Kerala stopped taking its share it was being supplied to Punjab under a trading arrangement between the two States. Now Punjab has also stopped lifting power from Kayamkulam following improvement in hydel power generation in that part of the country, and the increase in cost.

Last year, NTPC had to keep the plant shut for eight months for want of buyers. This year "we don't know how long it is going to remain closed. Any way, we are keeping the plant ready to operate as when the demand comes". The maintenance cost is, however, covered by the fixed cost paid by the KSEB, a NTPC source said.

According to the KSEB official, the annual demand of the State is estimated at 13,000 mus and of this up to 7,000 mus would be generated by the hydel projects.

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