Yettinahole project: Power bill may be around ₹150 crore per year for Karnataka

Main pump house of Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project at Doddanagara.
| Photo Credit: K BHAGYA PRAKASH

The Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project, which involves three-way pumping, has been allocated 219.44 MW of power, and the annual cost to the government of Karnataka is expected to be around ₹150 crore.

The first stage of the project was inaugurated on September 6 at Hebbanahalli in Sakleshpur. Six pumps of 11,000-HP capacity each pump water from delivery chamber–3 at Doddanagara to delivery chamber–4 at Hebbanahalli. Water flows in a gravity canal for the next 252.61 km, as per the plan. The pumps will be running up to November 6.

“Going by the current usage of power, electricity expenses alone would come to around ₹150 crore per year. We have done the metering of all structures,” said Shashidhar N.S., Assistant Executive Engineer (Electrical).

So far, the State Government has spent ₹396 crore for the infrastructure required for power supply in the first stage. It included eight pump houses, eight power stations, and 350 towers.

“We have used specially designed narrow base towers so that the minimum area is occupied. Particularly in Kadumane estate, we have used narrow base towers with single-side cross arm. Such towers do not force tree cutting,” the officer stated.

In the second stage of the project, 35 MW of power is required to lift water at T.G. Halli and another 82 MW for lifting water for Kolar district.

“Altogether, the total power requirement for the entire project will go up to 350 MW. We will install pumps of 26,000 HP to lift water to Kolar district,” the officer informed The Hindu.

The officers faced many challenges in executing the project in the tough terrain of the Western Ghats. “We faced many hurdles in setting up sub-stations at weirs. Weir 1 and 2 required 105.38 MW of power. Normally, we require two-three acres of land to set up a sub-station. However, using minimum land of 10 guntas, we have set up a 220/11 kV gas insulated sub-station (GIS), for the first time in any work of the Water Resources Department,” the engineer added.