Fall in hydro support causes 800 mw shortfall
As water levels at major reservoirs lie below minimum drawdown levels and problems occur at the thermal stations, APTransco estimates that the maximum demand it can meet is 5000 mw as against the expected demand of around 5800 mw during peak hours.
It has even put off overhauling of the units of APGenco and NTPC Simhadri to put the utilities to maximum use.
Besides the drastic fall in hydel power, which forms one-thirds of total installed capacity in the state, Transco is faced with frequent forced outages 2x500 mw units at NTPC Simhadri Thermal Power Station, both thermal and gas units and transmission lines, thus resulting in much difficulties in ensuring uninterrupted power supply to consumers in the state.
The APTransco chairman and managing director, Rachael Chatterjee, stated in a release Transco was taking steps to overcome the difficulties.
Hydel generation during June 2003 was 10.36 million units (MU) as against 126 MU in June 2002 and 358 MU five years ago in 1999.
There was hydro support of about 70 MU during peak hours in the last month as against 1000 mw in the corresponding period last year. Thus there is nearly no hydro support to meet the evening peak demand, she mentioned.
Against a full reservoir level (FRL) of 885 ft at Srisailam reservoir, the current water levels were at 766.32 ft on July 9 this year as compared to 796.70 ft in July last year.
In case of Nagarjuna Sagar with a FRL of 590 ft, the water levels on July 9 of this year and last year were 496.80 ft and 504.50 ft respectively.
Mentioning the frequent forced outages, Chatterjee informed that at Simhadri the unit 1 (500 mw) was under outage for 59 times for a total period of 2791 hours, working out to 22.3 per cent of total time since its commissioning.
Similarly, the unit 2, also of 500 mw, was under outage for 31 times for a total period of 987 hours working out to 12.1 per cent of total time since its launch.
On account of boiler tube leakages or boiler drum leakage alone, the unit 1 was not available for 50 days and unit 2 for 41 days since their commissioning.
Simhadri unit 2 is under forced outage due to boiler tube leaks from today. The 500 mw unit 3 at Talcher STPP in which AP has a share of 100 mw also tripped due to boiler tube leakage today.
Earlier, releasing the inaugural issue of
