Though it has been raining heavily in the catchment areas resulting in huge inflows to the three major hydel reservoirs of Karnataka, their total storage is lesser by around 9% when compared with the corresponding period in previous year.
The total storage in the three major hydel reservoirs of Linganamakki, Mani and Supa was 67.80% of the full capacity at 8 am on August 11, as against 76.85% during the corresponding period in the previous year.
Generation potential
It is possible to generate only 5,891 million units of energy from the cumulative storage from all the three major hydel reservoirs as against 6,677 million units in the previous year.
Reservoir-wise break up of statistics show that Linganamakki has a storage of 79.33% now as against the previous year’s level of 84.84%. Supa has 53.59% storage as against 73.77% in the previous year while Mani’s storage is 59.90% as against 49.41% in the previous year.
The data shows that only Mani reservoir has more storage than the level in the corresponding period in the previous year while the storage in the remaining two reservoirs is lesser when compared with the previous year’s level.
Interestingly, inflows now are much higher than those received during the corresponding period in the previous year. Despite good inflows, storage has remained lesser when compared with that of previous year.
Why the lesser amount of water despite heavy rains
Officials of the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), which manages these reservoirs, blame the situation on lesser storage in these reservoirs during the beginning of this water year in June. They point out that more quantum of water from these reservoirs had been drawn to cater to the increasing demand for power during summer months of this year. This had resulted in these reservoirs beginning the water year with a nominal storage level.
The three reservoirs had a cumulative storage of a mere 12.95% of total capacity by the end of June as against 38.59% during the corresponding period of the previous year, they explained.
Another factor, according to them, is the lesser rainfall during this June when compared with the previous year. The level of water started improving rapidly only from July when Karnataka started receiving heavy rainfall.
Water level is healthy
However, officials say that the present storage is healthy and that it is expected to match the previous year’s level if rains continue in the catchment areas for some more time.
