The generators of the Moolamattam power plant in Idukki, Kerala halted for over five hours after all six generators suddenly displayed technical issues, and shut off. This impacted power generation at the Idukki hydroelectric project.
According to a KSEB source, the generators shut down around 7.30 pm on Thursday night and the power generation stopped completely. "The complaint was with the DC battery supply, which provides power to the functioning of the generator. Moolamattam power plant generates a major chunk of power for the state and when it suddenly stopped, the state faced a shortage of over 300 MW and imposed load shedding in various parts. Then Kerala imported power from other states to manage the situation.”
“All six generators resumed power generation early on Friday morning. But a detailed inspection was needed to verify the actual reason for the failure of the battery system,” sources said.
Power Minister K Krishnankutty visited the plant on Friday, and has also called a probe over the sudden stop of all six generators. The minister said that the problem occured while fitting the new DC battery in the power plant, and claimed that the issue was solved in just over an hour, and not several hours. “The technical issue occurred around 7.28 pm on Thursday night and it was rectified within 70 minutes. There is no issue with the generators. We will take steps to not repeat such incidents” the minister said.
KSEB sources noted that to reduce water levels in Idukki reservoir, KSEB had increased the power generation to maximum capacity for the last one-and-half months. All six generators were generating an average of 14 to 16 MU per day. The power generation in Moolamattam power plant on Thursday was 14.695 MU. The water level in Idukki reservoir on Friday was 2371.14 feet, which is 65% of the total storage of the dam.
Meanwhile, for the last several years, the generators in the power plant have shown technical issues repeatedly. In February, a major blast occurred at the Moolamattam power plant. The blast had occurred at the auxiliary system of the transformer. According to sources, on seeing the light from the generator, the officials ran away from the spot and avoided a major tragedy.
In recent years as well, several blasts have occurred in the Moolamattom power plant. A major explosion at the underground power plant was reported on April 28, 2015 after the circuit breaker on the No. 3 generator broke down. In a major blast at the Moolamattom plant in 2011, two women officials, Merin Isaac, 26, and K S Prabha, 50, lost their lives.
The Moolamattam underground power station was commissioned in 1976, and the generators were installed in two phases. While generators one, two and three were installed in the first phase, four, five, and six were installed in 1986. The Moolamattom power house has a total production capacity of 780 Megawatts. Each of the six generators has 130MW capacity.
In 2017, GE power bagged the Rs 48 crore contract for the renovation of the power house, which was expected to be completed within a year.
The minister said that the renovation work for the three generators ,which were installed in the first phase, have already been completed. “A tender is out for the renovation of another three generators. The feasibility study of a second power house in Idukki is continuing and the report will be submitted next April,” said Krishnankutty.