Three generators shutdown at Moolamattom

Idukki: Power generation by three generators in the Moolamattom power house at Idukki was stopped on Saturday due to serious leakage found there. Electricity officials found serious leakage in the inlet valve of the penstock pipe. They then closed the spherical valve and stopped the power generation by the 1, 2, 3, generators of the first phase.
The fourth generator in this phase has already been closed for yearly maintenance.Now, only the second phase 5 and 6 generators are generating electricity.
The Moolamattom underground power house was commissioned on February 12, 1976. It has a total production capacity of 780 megawatt. Six generators, each with 130 megawatt capacity, were also installed in this powerhouse in two phases.
But now, the power house is generating only 260 megawatts of electricity per day following the closure of the three generators. The usual power generation here is 650 megawatts.
" We want at least two more weeks to complete the repairing works of the valve. The Electricity Board is already trying to buy more electricity from outside to maintain the power needs of the state," said a senior KSEB official.