The Hindu : Alamatti Dam power unit to be ready in record time

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 05, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Alamatti Dam power unit to be ready in record time

By Suresh Bhat

ALAMATTI JULY 4. It appears that the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL), which set a record by constructing thermal power units in a minimum time of 26 months, is gearing up to register another benchmark, this time in establishing a hydel power plant.

Work on the 290-MW Alamatti Dam Powerhouse (ADPH) is progressing much ahead of construction schedules. If everything goes as per the revised plan of the KPCL, the first hydel unit of 15 MW will be synchronised by January 2004, three months ahead of the original schedule. It means that a hydel unit will be made operational within 22 months of commencement of work which, according to KPCL officials, is an all-time record, at least as far as Indian hydroelectric plants are concerned.

Rs. 674-cr. project

In all, six units — one unit of 15 MW and five units of 55 MW each — are being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 674.38 crore, 80 per cent of which is being provided by the Power Finance Corporation.

While the second unit is scheduled to commence power generation in October 2004, the remaining units will be operational during the first half of 2005. Major concreting work related to penstocks is nearing completion, weeks ahead of schedule. Installation of steel columns up to the roof level is over. Besides, work on tie-beams and crane-beams in service bay has also been completed. Since the commencement of zero date (March 8, 2002), the KPCL has spent Rs. 135 crore on this fast-track project.

According to the Superintending Engineer (Task Force), K. Hemanagouda, who has been supervising the work since the beginning, meticulous planning and smooth flow of funds have made quick progress possible. Unlike other hydel schemes, the project is being executed using state-of-the-art technology, and this has ensured that it is cost-effective.

Once completed, the KPCL, which has already signed a power purchase agreement with the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL), hopes to add 483 million units to the State grid annually. This cannot be considered much in terms of generation compared with the State's annual demand of nearly 28,000 million units.

However, it is sure to provide some relief to the overburdened power generation units, especially the Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS). During the monsoon period, when enough water is available in the Alamatti reservoir, all the units can be run. This will enable the KPCL to shut down the thermal units at RTPS for maintenance work.

According to the Chief Engineer of the project, N.S. Bendre, the ADPH will work like a peaking station till water is available in the Alamatti reservoir.

One more advantage it is likely to provide is assured power supply to many lift-irrigation projects such as the Alamatti left and right bank canal systems, Mulwad, Chimmalagi, and Murol lift irrigation schemes. Quality power holds the key to the success of these projects, which are in advanced stages of completion.

Scepticism

Although much media hype has been created about the positive impact of the project, there is no dearth of scepticism within official circles.

The Alamatti and Narayanapur dams are executed mainly to create irrigation facilities in the parched lands of North Karnataka.

Water discharge from the Alamatti reservoir has to be regulated depending on the irrigation requirement. If the ADPH has to be run at its optimum capacity, a discharge of 40,000 cusecs is needed. If water is discharged at this level without sufficient inflow, the Alamatti Dam, whose capacity is 123 tmcft., will be emptied in 30 days.

The discharge made through the ADPH will subsequently join the Narayanpur reservoir (the State's last storage infrastructure across the Krishna), which covers the major part of the irrigated area under the Upper Krishna Project.

However, the requirement of Narayanapur left and right bank canals, and the Murol and Rampur lift irrigation schemes will not exceed 9,000 cusecs even after the command area is fully developed. Hence, the ADPH can be run at the optimum level only during floods, which rarely occurs, an official explains.

However, according to Mr. Bendre, the ADPH has been designed to use the further allotment of Krishna waters to Karnataka. Additional water can be stored in the Alamatti dam, which can be used for power generation.

Another question being raised is that whether this huge investment by a government subsidiary on the seasonal power generation unit, which cannot be run for even three months at its optimum capacity, is advisable.

However, the Technical Director, KPCL, S.M. Zafrulla, defended the project while talking to The Hindu. In fact, the KPCL was commissioning the project almost at half the cost quoted by a private sector company, he said.

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