PESHAWAR, Jan 8: The current rain spell has improved hydroelectric generation at the Warsak dam power plant, but it is unlikely to make any immediate impact at the Tarbela dam, which is producing electricity not more than 200MW at the moment.
Data collected from two big hydroelectric generating units of the NWFP suggest that the recent countrywide rains have improved electricity generation from the Warsak dam.
Built in 1960 on the River Kabul, the dam has a capacity of generating 240MW of electricity, which came down to mere 10MW recently because of a dry spell and limited water availability in the reservoir.
The rains improved power generation at the power project, as on Tuesday at 4am its power generation went up to 65MW against 50MW at the same time two days ago, Zakir Khan, an official on duty, confirmed when asked for comments on the situation.
He said the rains would increase the inflow of water at the main reservoir, which had the storage capacity of 76510 million cusec, resulting in greater power generation.
The official explained that during peak hours, which lasted from 5.15pm to 7.45pm, electricity generation from the Warsak dam remained at 137MW against its total capacity of 240MW.
He said the power generation was likely to go up with expected greater inflow of water because of the current rains.
The situation at the Tarbela dam, being the largest hydroelectric generating unit having a total capacity of 3400MW, is unlikely to be changed immediately because of restrictions placed by Indus River System Authority (Irsa).
Hamad Khan, a duty officer at the Tarbela Dam, told Dawn that at present Wapda was allowed to release 240000 cubic feet of water daily from the reservoir till Jan 25, which meant that power generation could not be increased with the current water discharge from the reservoir, spreading over 95 square miles.
He said that Tarbela also served as a reservoir for the irrigation purposes, saying if Irsa allowed water releases more than the current level, farmers at down country would not be able to get sufficient water for the Rabi crops, thus it had to be released in a controlled manner.
Currently, the Tarbela dam power station was generating only 200MW of electricity, which could be increased if Irsa allowed the release of sufficient water from the reservoir.
In the long term, power generation will go up at the Tarbela dam with melting of snow in northern parts of the NWFP, the official said.
Caretaker Minister for Water and Power Tariq Hamid has hinted at increasing the water outflow from Tarbela dam to 300000 cubic feet daily after Jan 25 that means the power generation from this power house would go up from the current level.