POWER
The SSP has a planned installed capacity of 1450 MW, of which 1200
MW will be generated by turbines installed in the river bed power house
(RBPH) and 250 MW from the canal head power house (CHPH). However,
installed capacity is not equal to actually produced power. Power will never be
actually produced at 1450 MW. As the SSP planning documents show (Table
10), the amount of power that will be generated on a reliable basis (i.e. firm
power), drops from 415 MW to 0 MW for the RBPH, and increases from 24
MW to 50 MW in the CHPH! Thus, the final firm power from the entire SSP
is only 50 MW, while at its highest, the firm power from SSP is 439 MW.
TABLE 10
Firm Power Generation From the SSP
| Source |
Installed Capacity |
| Firm Power | (MW) |
| Initial Phase | Final Phase |
|
| River Bed Power House |
1200 |
|
| Canal Head Power House |
250 |
|
| Total |
1250 |
|
The reason for this is very clear. As the dam impounds water in the
beginning, water can be sent to the large turbines in the RBPH to generate
power. However, this can be done only when there is enough water in the river.
As the canals for the SSP are completed, water abstraction for irrigation will
decrease water diverted to the RBPH turbines. The riverbed powerhouse will
then stay idle except for periods of high "excess" flow and for periods of
pumpback/generation from the Garudeshwar weir to meet peak demands for
electricity. The final firm power generated by the RBPH is zero. The CHPH,
on the other hand, will increase its generation to 50 MW as more water flows
through the canals.
|