It will be a challenge to meet the demand for power with steep fall in hydel and wind power generation, said Minister for Energy Shobha Karandlaje.
Speaking to reporters in Mangalore on Wednesday, Ms. Karandlaje said with decrease in the water levels in the Linganamakki, Supa and Mani dams, there will be shortfall of about 2,000 MW compared to power generated last year. The level of water in the Linganamakki dam has come down to 80 per cent, while the water level at the Supa and Mani dams was around 56 and 60 per cent respectively.
The wind energy production has drastically come down from 1,500 MW to about 200 MW per day in last few days. “Wind is usually good between September and December. We have an installed capacity of 2,200 MW. But with decease in the wind speed, the production has come down.”
Last year, the Minister said, the availability of wind power helped the State in conserving water in the three dams till December and then make use of hydel energy. There are also problems for thermal power plants because of lack of quality coal supply from Talcher in Odisha. The State Government, she said, had no other alternative but to purchase power. “We had submitted tender for purchase of 750 MW. But there is no corridor to supply. We are likely to get 250 MW from Gujarat in January.”
She said this year additional power of 600 MW was available from the second unit of the Udupi Thermal Plant. About 500 MW power will be from the second unit of Bellary Thermal Power Station, which will be dedicated to the nation shortly. “There will be about 1,500 MW extra power that will be available this year,” she said.
The Minister said by next month there will be a review of availability of hydel power, the wind power and from other sources. “We will take appropriate measures to meet the shortfall,” she said and added that there will not be any load shedding.
