The power utilities of Telangana are bracing up to meet the increasing demand for energy due to rising consumption by the agriculture sector, particularly after the introduction of 24×7 supply to farm feeders in three erstwhile districts of Karimnagar, Medak and Nalgonda, and the south-west monsoon continuing to play truant.
“We have managed to meet the power demand up to 9,400 MW this month, unprecedented during the monsoon period, with the help of daily purchases from the power exchange. However, it has become necessary to go in for short-term purchase of about 1,000 MW to meet the expected demand during the next three months,” a senior executive of the Power Generation Corporation of Telangana told The Hindu .
The utilities have spent about ₹2,000 crore on power purchases so far this season due to lack of relief in the demand owing to truant monsoon, the official said adding that they were preparing for any situation to meet the demand even up to 10,500 MW.
Daily purchases
The officials explained that the daily purchases from the exchange could become dearer as the demand has been on the rise in the neighbouring States like Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, also due to slump in hydel generation following lack of sufficient flood into the reservoirs on which the hydel stations are dependent. The prospects of taking up hydel generation to meet the increasing demand are remote until there are copious rains in the catchment areas to result in flood into the reservoirs.
“August, September and October months are crucial for hydel generation but the chances, as the circumstances stand now, of going for the cheapest power are very low. Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar reservoirs where the hydel generation facilities are concentrated require about 400 TMC ft of water for taking up generation there in its full capacity. During the three months, the hydel generation was about 850 million units (MU) with the highest of 361 MU in August. But, there generation is yet to commence this season,” the official said.
Sharing power
Even in June-July the hydel generation was reasonably good at 78.5 MU last year but it was only 1.7 MU, that too at small facilities at Lower Jurala and Singur. A ray of hope, according to officials, is the expected signing of an agreement by the southern states for instant sale/purchase of available power with them for devising mechanism to help each other, during the meeting scheduled at meeting at Thiruvananthapuram on Monday-Tuesday.
