Water shortage has affected production in Tuticorin Thermal Power Station.
Apart from coal, water is also equally important for production in this coal-fired power plant which has five units with a capacity of 210 MW each. Thoothukudi is facing an unprecedented water crisis in the wake of monsoon failure, prompting the authorities to curtail water supply to industries since January 7. The situation has improved considerably following rains in parts of Tirunelveli district. The level in Papanasam dam has increased.
“On an average, about 6,000 to 8,000 litres of water is required for power generation and other purposes in the thermal plant. Currently, it has a storage of only around 10,000 litres,” sources told The Hindu here on Saturday. Only when water supply from Tamirabarani river resumes, the water supply would become comfortable.
Since the ground-level reservoirs with a storage capacity of 15,000 litres and 25,000 litres were much below desirable level, the TTPS had been relying on neighbouring NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL), which had its own seawater desalination plant. In 2012, the TTPS faced a water crisis for a week, but fortunately rain mitigated the problem.
To avert water crisis in future, a detailed project report for installing a 10-MLD seawater desalination plant had been forwarded to government, the sources said.
Now, only the third and fifth units were operational. While the second unit had been kept on standby owing to less demand in the wake of good wind energy production, the first and fourth units were under maintenance, the sources added.
