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'''Sabarigiri Hydro Electric Project''' is the second largest hydro electric project in Kerala. The [[Pamba River]] and its tributary the Kakki River are dammed up to form two separate reservoirs which are connected by a 3.21 km long underground tunnel. The Sabarigiri Powerhouse is then fed from Kakki reservoir. <ref>{{Citation|title=Project Sabarigiri|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RltBvVqe49A|language=en|access-date=2021-07-25}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Wayback Machine |url=https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3e2ef524fbf3d9fe611d5a8e90fefdc9c/uploads/2021/06/2021061442.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511212002/https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3e2ef524fbf3d9fe611d5a8e90fefdc9c/uploads/2021/06/2021061442.pdf |archive-date=2024-05-11 |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=cdn.s3waas.gov.in}}</ref> Originally commissioned in 1966 with an installed capacity of 300 MW, from 2005 to 2009, the capacity was increased to 340 MW.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kerala State Electricity Board Limited - Pamba Basin HydroProjects|url=https://www.kseb.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=717&lang=en|access-date=2021-07-25|website=www.kseb.in|archive-date=2021-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711013338/https://www.kseb.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=717&lang=en|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Kakki reservoir is formed by the [[Kakki Dam]] and [[Anathode Dam]] that form a shared reservoir connected by a natural valley. Anathode is a stream which joins Kakki River downstream of Kakki Dam.<ref name=":1" />

The Pamba reservoir is formed by the [[Pamba Dam]].<ref name=":1" />

The Kakki and Pamba dam were completed in 1966 and Anathodu Dam in 1967.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Fact file on dams onwed by Kerala State Electricity Board |url=https://www.expert-eyes.org/dams.html |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=www.expert-eyes.org}}</ref>

Pamda reservoir has a catchment area of 90.88 km2 with a full reservoir level (FRL) at {{convert|3236|ft|m|abbr=on}} above [[Sea level|MSL]] and a minimum drawdown level (MDDL) of {{convert|3160|ft|m|abbr=on}} above MSL, providing an effective storage at FRL of 31,450,000 m3.

Kakki reservoir has a catchment area of 225.51 km2 with a FRL at {{convert|3220|ft|m|abbr=on}} above MSL and a minimum drawdown level of {{convert|3135|ft|m|abbr=on}} above MSL, providing an effective storage at FRL of 447,760,000 m3.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kerala State Electricity Board Limited|url=http://india-wris.nrsc.gov.in/wrpinfo/index.php?title=Pamba(Eb)_Dam_D02918|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418031923/http://www.kseb.in/index.php?Itemid=80&id=70&option=com_content&view=article&lang=en|archive-date=18 April 2018}}</ref>

== History ==
Work on Pamba Dam started in 1962. Originally commissioned in 1966 with an installed capacity of 300 MW, from 2005 to 2009, the capacity was increased to 340 MW. In 1966 the capacity of the reservoir was twice as big as that of all other hydro-electric reservoirs in Kerala combined.<ref>{{Citation|title=Project Sabarigiri|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RltBvVqe49A|language=en|access-date=2021-07-25}}</ref>

On 2 December 1968 the Deputy Minister of Irrigation and Power Ishri Siddheswar Prasad
answered questions in Lok Sabha about a defective stator steel stampings supplied by a foreign firm. He stated that the stampings were found badly/rusted and unserviceable due to defects in production and transport and were replaced at a cost of Rs. 13 lakhs. The manufacturer had disputed the damages.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Written Answers | date=December 2, 1968 | url=https://eparlib.sansad.in/bitstream/123456789/2903275/1/04_VI_02-12-1968_p71_p72_u2899.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250609083745/https://eparlib.sansad.in/bitstream/123456789/2903275/1/04_VI_02-12-1968_p71_p72_u2899.pdf | archive-date=2025-06-09}}</ref>

A generator was destroyed in a fire on 16 May 2008, the generator was then dismantled and replaced with a 60 MW generator on 6 May 2014.

At 5.53 pm 1 April 2022 a 60 MW power generator failed due to a winding failure. [[Kerala State Electricity Board|KSEB]], the operator, had found the winding to be weak in the power generators in an evaluation two months before and had planned to rewind them in the coming year.
At the time of failure there were two units with a capacity of 60 MW and four units with a capacity of 55 MW.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kerala faces 60 MW power shortfall as generator at Sabarigiri project shut due to winding failure |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2022/Apr/02/kerala-faces-60-mw-power-shortfall-as-generator-at-sabarigiri-project-shut-due-to-winding-failure-2437155.html |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=www.newindianexpress.com}}</ref>

== Sabaigiri Augmentation Scheme ==
The upper reaches of the Moozhiyar River, a tributary of the Pamba River, flow on the southern side of the Kakki reservoir. The [[Upper Moozhiyar Dam]] diverts water to the Kakki–Anathode reservoir<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wayback Machine |url=https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3e2ef524fbf3d9fe611d5a8e90fefdc9c/uploads/2021/06/2021061466.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511185052/https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3e2ef524fbf3d9fe611d5a8e90fefdc9c/uploads/2021/06/2021061466.pdf |archive-date=2024-05-11 |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=cdn.s3waas.gov.in}}</ref> through a tunnel. The surplus over the storage flows over to the Moozhiyar River. The [[Upper Moozhiyar Dam]] was completed in 1979.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Kullar Dam]] and [[Gavi Dam]] form a common reservoir. Water from this reservoir is diverted to [[Meenar-1_Dam|Meenar–I reservoir]] through a tunnel before being diverted by another tunnel to [[Meenar-2_Dam|Meenar–II reservoir]]. Water from this reservoir is diverted to Pamba Dam through an open channel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wayback Machine |url=https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3e2ef524fbf3d9fe611d5a8e90fefdc9c/uploads/2021/06/2021061494.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511201941/https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3e2ef524fbf3d9fe611d5a8e90fefdc9c/uploads/2021/06/2021061494.pdf |archive-date=2024-05-11 |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=cdn.s3waas.gov.in}}</ref>

Water from [[Kochu Pamba Weir]] is pumped into the Pamba reservoir through a pump house located downstream from Pamba Dam.

Kullar, Gavi, Meenar–I, and Meenar–II were completed in 1990.<ref name=":0" />

== Pamba Irrigation Scheme ==
The Pamba Irrigation scheme in [[Pathanamthitta district|Pattanamthitta]] district is aimed at the utilization of the tail race water of Sabarigiri Hydro Electric project for irrigation purposes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pamba Scheme|url=http://www.irrigation.kerala.gov.in/index.php/infrastructure/irrigation-schemes/storage-schemes/188-pamba-scheme|access-date=2021-07-25|website=irrigation.kerala.gov.in|archive-date=2019-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220040301/http://www.irrigation.kerala.gov.in/index.php/infrastructure/irrigation-schemes/storage-schemes/188-pamba-scheme|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the tail water has entered the [[Kakkattar|Kakkad River]] it is picked up by a barrage in Maniyar.

The {{convert|21135|ha|km2}} of [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ayacut ayacut] are located in the Pathanamthitta and Alapuzha districts. An estimated 81,600 tonnes of paddy are produced by this project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maniyar {{!}} Irrigation-kerala |url=https://irrigation.kerala.gov.in/maniyar |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=irrigation.kerala.gov.in}}</ref>

== Kakkad Hydro Electric Project ==
The [[Kakkad Hydro Electric Project]] utilizes the tail race water from Sabarigiri power station and water from the Moozhiyar and Velluthode rivers. Two dams store water for the powerhouse. The main reservoir is on the [[Moozhiyar Dam|Moozhiyar]] downstream of the confluence with the tail race water from Sabarigiri power station. A tunnel connects this reservoir to Kakkad Power Station.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wayback Machine |url=https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3e2ef524fbf3d9fe611d5a8e90fefdc9c/uploads/2021/06/2021061416.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728121232/https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3e2ef524fbf3d9fe611d5a8e90fefdc9c/uploads/2021/06/2021061416.pdf |archive-date=2021-07-28 |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=cdn.s3waas.gov.in}}</ref> The second reservoir is formed by the [[Veluthodu Dam]], across the Velluthode River, a tributary of [[Kakkattar|Kakkad River]]. After generating power, water is released to the Kakkad River. The Kakkad River, also called Kakkatar, is a tributary of the Pamba River.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Dams in Kerala|state=expanded}}

{{coord missing|Kerala}}

[[Category:Hydroelectric power stations in Kerala]]
[[Category:Pamba River]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Pathanamthitta district]]

Sabarigiri Hydro Electric Project - Revision history

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