A month of rain but still no hydro power in Telangana

Hyderabad: In what could be a worrying news, hydel generation in Telangana continues to be almost nil even in the second week of July, almost a month since monsoon were supposed to have shown their effect in the state.

With not enough water collected in the Jurala, Srisailam and Nagarjuna sagar reservoirs due to poor rains, the contribution of hydel power to the state’s daily feed is now less that 17 MW. But the total installed hydro capacity of Telangana Genco is nearly 2,400 MW.

The state has been receiving rain but water levels in Jurala, Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar has not started to rise. They start getting filled up only after the dams in Karnataka and Maharashtra are full. Telangana also requires these two states to release water downstream.

But officials are confident they can match the hydel power deficit. They said if the hydropower situation does not improve and if TS Genco is not able to generate power by September and October - during peak kharif season – they would still be able to meet the power requirements from various other sectors and even guarantee an uninterrupted 9-hour daytime supply to the agriculture sector.

“We are prepared to meet a peak demand of about 10,000 MW even if the hydropower situation does not improve in the next one or two months. We have anticipated the situation and have made purchases from the private power producers. We will also be able to give 24x7 supply to the domestic and commercial sector without any problem,” said TS Genco Chairman and Managing Director Mr D. Prabhakar Rao.