Heavy rains in Malnad region in the initial phase of southwest monsoon this year proved to be a boon for the State power sector as the storage in all three major hydel reservoirs, considered as cheap source of power, has increased substantially.
The combined live storage of water in Linganamakki reservoir that provides water for Sharavati hydel power project; Supa reservoir, the source of water for Kalinadi hydro electric project, and Mani reservoir that provides water for Varahi hydro electric project has enhanced by 13 tmcft in a span of 16 days. The combined live storage in these three reservoirs that was at 75 tmcft on June 1 enhanced to 88 tmcft on June 16 owing to heavy rains that have lashed Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts, which form the catchment areas of these reservoirs.
The combined power generation potential of the three reservoirs has also increased by 435 million units during this period. On June 1, the combined generation potential of the three reservoirs stood at 1,831 million units that includes 1,035 million units from Supa reservoir, 623 million units from Linganamakki reservoir, and 173 million units from Varahi reservoir. The present power generation capacity from the three reservoirs is 2,266 million units that includes 1,048 million units from Supa reservoir, 987 million units from Linganamakki reservoir, and 231 million units from Varahi reservoir.
Also the present combined live storage of the three reservoirs is 29 tmcft more than the combined live storage recorded previous year on the corresponding day. Though southwest monsoon enters Malnad region in first week of June every year, it becomes active in third week of July. This year, both Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts have received heavy rains in the first two weeks of June itself.
The total combined live storage capacity of the three reservoirs is at 327 tmcft. According to sources in Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd., the normal combined live storage of the three reservoirs in June is at 20% of their total live storage capacity. The present combined live storage is at 26% of the total live storage capacity and by the end of this month, further enhancement in water storage is expected. The water level in Linganamakki reservoir that was constructed in 1964 has attained full reservoir capacity 14 times. Normally, monsoon becomes active in the region in the third week of July and if it maintains momentum in August also, the water level in the three reservoirs reach maximum capacity by first or second week of September. The State is dependent on hydro power projects to maintain peak-hour power load management during summer.
