Deficit monsoon hits hydel power output in Karnataka

Deficit southwest monsoon over a month in the catchment areas of Karnataka has hit power generation from hydel sources in the state, an official said on Wednesday.

According to the meteorology office, the monsoon was 27 percent deficit from June to August 10, with total rainfall being about 400 mm (40 cm) as against normal 660 mm (66 cm).

"Poor monsoon has depleted the combined water storage in our three major hydel reservoirs -- Linganamakki, Mani and Supa," Karnataka Power Corp Ltd (KPCL) managing director M. Maheshwar Rao said.

Linganamakki and Mani dams are in Shivamogga district of Malnad region, about 270 km from Bengaluru. The Supa dam is in Uttara Kannada district, about 500 km from here.

Though the state has a combined installed capacity of 10,189 MW from conventional resources like hydel and thermal stations, generation is around 6,600-7,300 MW due to lower hydro output and breakdown in state and central power generating units.

"Power output declined to 3,200 MW due to outages in coal-based thermal units at Udupi, Raichur and Ballari in the first half of this month," Rao said.

The state-run KPCL generates most energy in partnership with private producers from Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS), Ballari Thermal Power Station (BTPS) and Udupi Power Corp Ltd (UPCL), an independent private producer Lanco-Infratech.