It may take at least 10 days to complete the repair of a generator at the Moolamattom power house of the Idukki hydroelectric project.
A senior official of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) told The Hindu on Wednesday that the repair of generator-six were on, and it would be returned to power generation mode in 10 days. Of the six generators at the power house, only four were working. One was undergoing annual repairs.
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With two of the generators non-functional, there is a 260 MW fall in power production. The total installed capacity of the six generators is 780 MW.
The power transformer of generator six had developed faults and was shut down for repairs on Monday.
The power consumption in the State has fallen considerably following the rains and the drop in temperature. This could be an advantage, as the State had been experiencing severe power shortage following the delay in the monsoon and a considerable drop in the rainfall in the main reserve areas, especially in the catchment areas of Idukki which generates nearly 45 per cent of the total power consumed in the State.
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The average increase in the water level in the dam is over one foot per day, though it had reached nearly two feet last week.
The inflow of water is not enough to increase the total water level in the dam that was 2,328.98 ft on Wednesday, compared to the 2,371.58 ft the same day last year, data available with the Dam Monitoring and Research Station, Cheruthoni, show. The catchment area recorded a rainfall of 51.2 mm on Wednesday morning. This was below the average rainfall in the district.
Controlled power production in on at the power house. The KSEB official said the power production on Wednesday at the power house was 4.995 million units.