Srisailam (Nandyal district): In a significant achievement, Srisailam Right Bank Hydro Electric Station (SRBHES) has surpassed its annual power generation target for 2025–26 within a span of two months of operation. Chief Engineer Tirumala Prasad said the station generated 1166.407 million units (MU) of electricity against the target of 1,000 MU, made possible by utilising 189.5 TMC ft of water. He credited the milestone to close monitoring by officials, efficient staff performance and sustained maintenance of all seven 110-MW generating units.

Generation has been temporarily halted in recent days due to a dip in reservoir levels, as water is being diverted through the Pothireddypadu head regulator to meet agricultural needs. However, Prasad said power production will resume immediately once fresh rainfall improves storage.

As per the official source the reservoir holds 206.099 TMC ft of water against its full capacity of 215.80 TMC ft, with water level at 883.30 ft, close to FRL of 885 ft. The project recorded an inflow of 65,865 cusecs and a release of 1,02,877 cusecs downstream. Current drawals include 30,737 cusecs for AP Power House, 35,315 cusecs for Telangana Power House, 1,600 cusecs for Mahatma Gandhi Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation scheme, 23,000 cusecs through Pothireddypadu balancing reservoir and 3,225 cusecs via Handri Neeva Srujala Sravanthi canal. The CE noted that full-scale generation continued uninterrupted due to robust maintenance systems.

Prasad also pointed out that this year’s favourable conditions enabled early achievement of the target. In previous years, SRBHES generated 1130.936 MU in 2020–21, 1,439.111 MU in 2021–22, 1883.204 MU in 2022–23 and 1,166.407 MU in 2024–25, consistently exceeding its respective annual targets.