Home / Asia / India / PORINGALKUTTU

PORINGALKUTTU

Hydro power plant in Kerala, India. Approximate location 10.3118, 76.617.

HydroKeralaIndiaconventional storage

PORINGALKUTTU is a 32 MW hydro power plant in Kerala, India. It is operated by Kerala State Electricity Board LTD (KSEB) [100%]. Based on reported annual generation of 94 GWh, it can supply roughly 27k homes. It ranks #1286 of 2,229 India power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1958, it is around 68 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 8.6% of India's electricity; the national grid averages 670 gCO₂/kWh (26.7% low-carbon) (2025).

32Source-backed capacity
94GWh reported / yr
26,885homes powered
1958commissioned (~68 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id IND0000341.

Data status

Known data

FacilityPORINGALKUTTU WRI
CountryIndia · Kerala WRI
Coordinates10.3118, 76.617 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity32 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerKerala State Electricity Board LTD (KSEB) [100%] WRI
Commissioned1958 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI
GWh reported / yr94 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1286 of 2229 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#169 of 233 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.40× · 80 MW median · 233 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent26,885 calculated from reported generation
Climate24.6°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 47/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100001046136); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 32 MW, PORINGALKUTTU is below the median hydro plant in India (80 MW). Technically it is described as conventional storage. Hydropower converts the energy of falling or flowing water into electricity; output depends on rainfall and reservoir level, and large dams also provide grid balancing and storage.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Reported generation trend

2014: 150 GWh20142015: 159 GWh20152016: 91 GWh20162017: 116 GWh20172018: 94 GWh2018159 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Kerala State Electricity Board LTD (KSEB) [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 10.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

24.6°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,420cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
472 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 24 °CJF: 25 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 27 °CAM: 26 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 24 °CSO: 24 °CON: 24 °CND: 24 °CD27 °C

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
47/100environmental-severity index
3.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
40 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #169 largest hydro power plant of 233 in India by capacity.

India has 233 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 45,527 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 10.3118, 76.617 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is PORINGALKUTTU?

PORINGALKUTTU is a 32 MW source-record hydro power plant in Kerala, India, commissioned in 1958.

How much electricity does PORINGALKUTTU generate?

PORINGALKUTTU generates about 94 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can PORINGALKUTTU power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 26,885 homes.

Who operates PORINGALKUTTU?

PORINGALKUTTU is operated by Kerala State Electricity Board LTD (KSEB) [100%].

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.