The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) may not have to release water from its dams if the State receives normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season, according to a review by the State-run power utility.
However, if the State were to receive extremely heavy rainfall for days together as in 2018 and 2019, controlled release of water will be initiated on the basis of the rule curves and the stipulations of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), the KSEB said on Monday.
In such an eventuality, the shutters will be raised only with the permission of the district disaster management authorities and by warning the public, it added.
The dam safety wing is well prepared to meet the challenges of the monsoon season, KSEB officials said. Senior officials of the Power Department and the KSEB attended the review.
As of May 30, the KSEB reservoirs were 36% full, with a combined storage adequate to generate 1,483.25 million units (MU) of electricity. This is slightly higher than on the same day last year when the storage stood at 1,106.3 MU, in 2019 when it stood at 685.3 MU and in 2018 when it stood at 1,000 MU.
