Low rainfall to hit power generation

The Rengali, Ramganga, Gandhisagar, Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam water reservoirs have breached the minimum draw-down level, which could result in lower electricity generation and also affect the irrigation system in the area.

The water level in most reservoirs was below their respective levels last year, though officials said the situation had not attained "alarming proportions". The lower reservoir level was attributed to scanty rainfall.

While all the nine reservoirs in north India had lower water level as on July 21, compared with that of July 21, 2003, barring the Nagarjuna Sagar in Andhra Pradesh, the other 10 reservoirs reported higher level.

Similarly, four reservoirs in the eastern part of the country reported higher levels of water, though there was marginally less water in Hirakund and Rengali in Orissa.

According to the Central Electricity Authority data for July 21, the Rengali reservoir in Orissa had 109.88 metres of water, instead of the minimum draw-down level (MDDL) of 109.95 metres.

The energy content at the present level was estimated at 271.48 million units against 275 million units at the full reservoir level.

Ramganga reservoir in Uttar Pradesh had 317.72 metres of water against the minimum draw-down level of 335 metres and the energy content was estimated at 525.31 million units compared with 740 million units at the full reservoir level.

Similarly, at Gandhisagar in Madhya Pradesh, the water level was estimated at 379.38 metres compared with the the minimum draw-down level of 381 metres, while the energy content was pegged at a tenth of its full reservoir level capacity of 2,044 million units .

The Gandhinagar energy content includes the generation at RP Sagar and Jawahar Sagar, according to the Central Electricity Authority .

The reservoir position in Nagarjuna Sagar in Andhra Pradesh was estimated at 150.69 metres compared with the minimum draw-down level of 156.36 metres, while at the Srisailam reservoir in the state, the level was estimated at 238.41 metres compared to the minimum draw-down level of 245.36 metres.

The energy content was down to 374.4 million units in case of Srisailam compared to 1,578 million units in case of the full reservoir level.