Latest news with #GasTurbine
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- Climate
- The Hindu
Of cyclones, coal dust and commutes: A meteorologist's memoir on Madras
'My earliest memories of Chennai are when I used to cycle around places in north Madras as a schoolboy in the early 1970s. I later settled down in the city when I was deputed as the senior observer in the Regional Meteorological Centre in 1984. During the April thunderstorms in 1970s, I observed black-coloured rainwater seeping through the roofs of houses in Vyasarpadi and Basin Bridge due to coal dust particles that had accumulated on the houses. I later realised easterly winds brought them from Basin Bridge thermal power station. The areas were relieved of the pollution after 1985 when the plant was submerged in floods and replaced by Gas Turbine power station in 1996. When I joined RMC, I initially stayed at a friend's house in Thiru Nagar, Valasaravakkam. MTC buses were the only transport connectivity to travel across the city. Arcot Road used to be a busy stretch in 1984 too. Bus routes like 17 C (Porur - Broadway) used to be packed as early as 8.30 a.m. and I used to deboard with my shirt all wrinkled. Autorickshaws used to charge up to ₹150 to reach places like Thiru Nagar. In a few weeks, I shifted to Triplicane, dreading the chaotic bus travel from Valasaravakkam. Triplicane was a bachelors' paradise with plenty of options for accommodation and mess. The public and lending libraries in Big Street were my sanctuary. I used to spend evening hours reading my favourite authors. Drawn by childhood memories and convenient bus service to Nungambakkam every five minutes, I settled in Perambur in the late 1980s. Perambur bus terminus has not undergone much change since then. Madras water: too much, too little I vividly remember 1984 Sriharikota cyclone that wreaked havoc in Chennai and Andhra Pradesh. Incessant rains since the evening hours led to flooding in the city and I had to wade through waist deep water for about three km through Perambur Barracks Road, B and C Mills, Jamalia to reach home in Perambur. During monsoon, when most streets in Perambur were inundated, I used to carry spare clothes to change enroute in a friend's house, before reaching the office. The area presented a stark contrast during summers with an acute water shortage. I used to walk for one km to reach a handpump streets away, and often sleep on footpaths, using sack as a makeshift bedspread to fetch water. Pots would line up for nearly half a km, waiting until 3 a.m. Now, the locality has come a long way from its days of water scarcity. College Road, home to the RMC, was a two-way traffic route in the 1980s. But it will turn deserted after 6 p.m. There were no eateries except for a lone tea shop that still stands today. We walked to Shastri Bhavan or travel to Egmore for snacks. We, as a team, went on car drives during night hours to various localities in the city, collecting weather data on temperature and humidity to study urban heat island impact. Places like Raj Bhavan were noticeably cooler due to their tree cover compared to rapidly developing Anna Nagar in 1985-86.' (As told to K. Lakshmi)
The South African
18-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
Eskom confirms load shedding remains suspended
With the continued suspension of load shedding, the power system remains stable and approximately 2 600MW are expected return ahead of Monday's evening peak. 'The power system is stable, allowing for the suspension of load shedding since 22:00 on Thursday, 15 May 2025. 'While stable, the system remains constrained and adequate emergency reserves are in place and strategically deployed to support demand during peak winter periods,' Eskom said. The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF), which measures unplanned outages, stands at 28.30% for the financial year-to-date (1 April to 15 May 2025). This reflects a slight improvement of ~0.2% compared to 28.47% recorded during the same period last year. The financial year-to-date planned maintenance has averaged 6 669MW, representing 14.26% of total generation capacity – an increase of 3.1% compared to the previous year. 'As the winter season sets in, planned maintenance has been decreased, averaging 5 407MW this week (9 to 15 May) – slightly higher than the typical winter maintenance levels in prior years. 'The Open-Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) load factor increased to 10.94% this week, compared to 3.87% in the previous week (2 to 8 May 2025). The financial year-to-date OCGT load factor reflects a 2.8% decrease compared to the year-to-date figure from the previous week,' Eskom said. Diesel usage is expected to decline as more units return from long-term repairs and maintenance activities are reduced, increasing available generation capacity. Eskom said the Winter Outlook, published on 5 May 2025, covering the period ending 31 August 2025, remains valid. 'It indicates that load shedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages stay below 13 000MW. If outages rise to 15 000MW, load shedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days and restricted to Stage 2,' the power utility said. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
