₹500-cr power lost as BBMB water level lowest since 2004

: With water level in reservoirs of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) at its lowest since 2004, the management has curtailed the release of water and shut its power generation units.

This is an unusual move on the part of the BBMB and has meant that Punjab’s hydel power generation from all downstream dams, namely Anandpur Sahib, Mukerian, UBDC and Ranjit Sagar Dam, has been zero. Of the state’s installed capacity of 1,083 MW, these contribute 893 MW (82%). Last year, there had been record hydel generation.

The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had was, thus, producing 950 million units less than the previous years, valued at ₹500 crore, a power engineer said. “We are meeting the shortfall by generating more power from coal-fired plants,” he added. Shanan project, which is a river-based project, is operational and generating 105 MW.

“It is a double blow for the PSPCL; we have lower generation from hydel and increased demand due to the shortage of irrigation water. On August 11 last year, we generated 254 lakh units from hydel power; this year, we have produced only 109 lakh units,” another power engineer added.

Due to the low water level, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has restricted water supply to the states. Last week, the board asked its partner states — Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan — to utilise monsoon water to the maximum to minimise release from the Bhakra and Pong reservoirs and conserve water for later use.

As on Saturday, the reservoir level of the Bhakra (on the Sutlej in HP), Pong (on the Beas in HP) and Ranjit Sagar (on the Ravi in Punjab) dams was lower by 60 feet, 42 feet and 34 feet, respectively, than the level on the corresponding day last year.

BBMB chairman Devinder Kumar Sharma said, “BBMB is for supplying water, and additionally we generate electricity, when we release water. So, our priority is to conserve water to fill the dam for use the entire year,” he said.

He added that partner states had been apprised about the situation, which was likely to improve with more rain forecast in catchment areas. He added water flow had been restricted as lot of rain had been witnessed in downstream areas like Punjab and Haryana, where paddy sowing was almost completed, and rain had been a help.

“A meeting of partner states has been called on August 18 to assess the situation,” he added.

A meeting of partner states has been called on August 18 to assess the situation and take a decision on the release of water. DK SHARMA, chairman, BBMB