Odisha likely to stop hydropower generation amid El Nino fears

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has directed officials to immediately stop hydropower generation from reservoirs if water levels fall below the minimum threshold required for drinking water supply and agricultural irrigation.

According to an official letter issued by the Department of Water Resources on August 4, Additional Secretary to the Government Narahari Sethi has instructed the Engineer-in-Chief (EIC), Water Resources, to closely monitor reservoir levels across the state and regulate hydropower generation accordingly.

The directive follows a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, which reviewed Odisha’s water security situation and stressed that ensuring adequate water for drinking and irrigation must remain the government’s top priority.

The government has categorically ordered that if water storage in any reservoir drops below the level required to safeguard these essential needs, electricity generation from that reservoir must be stopped immediately.

The letter cites the ongoing El Niño conditions, which have resulted in lower water storage levels compared to previous years, as the reason for the precautionary measures.

The Water Resources Department has directed officials to continuously monitor all power-generating reservoirs across Odisha on a 24-hour basis, maintain daily records of live storage levels, inflows and projected depletion rates; and immediately suspend hydropower generation without waiting for further approvals if water levels fall below the critical requirement for drinking water supply and irrigation.