Leaking Pipe In Srisailam Power Stn

Frantic efforts are on by Engineering Department officials to plug a 5-foot hole in a water pipeline which poses a danger to the 770MW Right Bank Power house at Srisailam, on Tuesday.

According to sources, the hole, located at the 5th unit of the power station, is spewing out water at a tremendous pace. The water has already forced the authorities to halt power generation in the 2nd and 5th units, sources say.

The Engineering Department officials have a dual task on hand - one, to try and plug the gaping hole, and then, to ensure that the millions of gallons of water do not damage the power generation equipment.

According to sources, officials have already deployed 6 motors to pump out the water.

Officials have tried to assuage worries that the power production equipment has already been damaged saying, "There is no cause for worry. The officials are taking all steps to contain damage caused due to water. The power generation will not be affected by the hole."

This is not the first time that power production in the Srisailam Hydro Power Project has been affected due to inundation. The 770 MW Right Bank power house had been submerged during the massive floods in October 2009, shutting down power production for over 3 months. It took over Rs. 100 crore to get the plant to produce power again.

Earlier, the plant was submerged in the October 1998 floods, and it took about 10 days for AP Genco to pump out the water, and over 2 months for BHEL to salvage the equipment and restore it. That had cost the government over Rs. 70 crore.

With copious inflows into the Srisailam Dam, power generation in both the 900-MW left bank power project and 770-MW right bank power house has commenced, bringing cheer to the power-starved State.

Courtesy: INN