The Hindu : Karnataka News : Varahi Project Stage-2 commissioned

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Sunday, Jan 11, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Varahi Project Stage-2 commissioned

B.S. Satish Kumar

It will save Rs. 1.25 crore a day for the State; it will generate power only during peak hours

NEW MILESTONE: Chief Minister B S Yaddyurappa inaugurating the Varahi Stage 2 project at Hosangadi in Udupi district on Saturday. At right is a view of the new power plant.

HOSANGADI (Udupi District): Karnataka’s peak-hour power generation capacity increased by 230 MW on Saturday with the commissioning of the Stage-2 of the Varahi Hydro Electric Project in the Western Ghats at Hosangadi in Udupi district.

The second stage of the project, which generates power at a low cost, is expected to save Rs. 1.25 crore a day for the State. The State is buying power from private power producers at a high cost.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa dedicated the Varahi Stage-2, which has two generating units with a capacity of 115 MW each. While one unit is already generating power to the maximum potential, another unit is expected to reach the full capacity very soon. The project uses water from the Varahi for power generation.

This project, which is a peaking station, will generate power only during the morning and evening peak duration of about eight hours a day. It is mainly during peak hours that the power shortage assumes crisis proportion. The two hydel units can generate nearly two million units of power during peak hours of the day.

This comes as a boon to the State at a time when its power shortage is expected to increase during summer. The Stage-2 project alone can generate five to six million units a day if run for 24 hours.

Already two generating units with a capacity of 115 MW each are working under Stage-1 of the project.

The Stage-2 project stands apart from other power generation projects which have been commissioned in recent years for its economy of operation.

Implemented at an investment of Rs. 291 crore, it is expected to generate power at a cost of Rs. 1.26 a unit as against 56 paise a unit being generated by Stage-1. Both the stage-1 and stage-2 of the project are part of an underground powerhouse.

The powerhouse is built against Varahi river which takes its birth in Western Ghats at Hebbagilu near Agumbe in Shimoga district.

Water from Mani dam which passes through a pick-up dam is the source for generation of power for this project.

Minister for Energy K.S. Eshwarappa and Home Minister V.S. Acharya participated in the programme.

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