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Reservoirs are brimming with water and higher coal stocks at power plants have improved the prospects for electricity generation this summer. An ongoing slump in power demand has nearly halved the power deficit to 4.3 per cent during 10 months of 2013-14 from 8.8 per cent a year ago.

The Central Water Commission (CWC) estimates 85 key reservoirs of the country hold 77.8 billion cubic metres of water, around 50 per cent of capacity. This compares well against the 41 per cent storage at the same time last year and an average 39 per cent in the last 10 years.

"Summer deficits are not going to be as severe this year as before. Apart from the slowdown in demand, a lot of states' discoms have contracted significant power in advance," said Debasish Mishra, senior director at Deloitte. While demand has been flat this fiscal, power generation has jumped 6 per cent on the back of 10 per cent growth in capacity addition.

India's largest dam, Indira Sagar in Madhya Pradesh with a capacity of 9.7 billion cubic metres, is running on 40 per cent storage as against the last 10 years' average of 22 per cent. Among the other large dams, Hirakud in Odisha has 65 per cent storage against last year's 62 per cent; Ukai in Gujarat has 73 per cent against last year's 56 per cent; and Gandhi Sagar in Madhya Pradesh has 73 per cent against 62 per cent last year.

The prospects are particularly bright for the northern region with its largest dam, Bhakra in Himachal Pradesh with a capacity of 6.2 billion cubic metres, storing 47 per cent against the last ten years' average of 34 per cent. The second largest dam in India meets the power and irrigation needs of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Overall, water storage is better than last year in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Only two states, Jharkhand and Punjab, have relatively less storage this year. India Meteorological Department (IMD) data show the post-monsoon rainfall in October 2013 - which was 61 per cent above normal against 27 per cent below normal in the same month in 2012 - is a key reason for the improved storage.

Source-On Request