Andhra Pradesh State government has requested the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to direct the State of Telangana not to operate powerhouses of Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar without water release orders from the KRMB.
The A.P. Government also wanted that the powerhouse at Pulichintala should not be operated by the State of Telangana without indent by the State of Andhra Pradesh for water requirement in Krishna Delta System.
A.P. Engineer in Chief (EnC) C. Narayana Reddy wrote a letter on Monday to the KRMB in response to the views expressed by the T.S. government regarding the power generation at L/S Power House at NSRSP Srisailam Project.
In the letter, Mr. Reddy said the administrative control of the right bank main powerhouse and the entire Srisailam reservoir except the left bank main powerhouse vests with the State of Andhra Pradesh. And the control of the left side pumped storage scheme vests with the State of Telangana by virtue of geographical boundaries of the divided States, he added.
The pumped storage scheme at the left bank is envisaged as the peak load generation station and after generation of power, the same quantity of water has to be pumped back to the reservoir. The releases through the right bank main powerhouse are to be made to the extent of the downstream requirement of drinking and irrigation, duly considering the storage in the Nagarjunasagar reservoir, he asserted.
"The right bank main powerhouse thus acts as a firm power generation station. The power generation by the successor States from their respective power stations at Srisailam will have to be limited to their downstream drinking and irrigation requirements," Mr. Reddy said in the letter, adding, "If any excess power generation is made through the left pumped storage scheme over and above the downstream entitlements, then such excess releases so made shall be pumped back to the reservoir."
The release of water at Nagarjunasagar and Pulichintala is incidental to the extent of drinking and irrigation releases for the Krishna delta in the State of Andhra Pradesh, he said.
Generation of power at Nagarjunasagar dam powerhouse and Pulichintala dam powerhouse may be shared between both the States, he said, while adding that even though the powerhouses are geographically located in Telangana, downstream water requirements are under Krishna Delta System in Andhra Pradesh.
In view of the above, it is requested to address Telangana informing that the power generation is only incidental to the downstream irrigation and drinking water requirements of Nagarjunasagar and Krishna Delta System. As Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar are common reservoirs, the State of Telangana should not operate powerhouses unilaterally, he added.
