Nathpa project generates 10,600 mn units of power

The Nathpa project, the county's largest hydro-power project, has generated 10,600 million units of electricity worth Rs 2,490 crore in the past two years.

The 1,500 Mw Nathpa project built on the Sutlej River in Himachal Pradesh started commercial production two years ago. The project has been able to generate power worth Rs 2,490 crore despite the project being shut down for long periods due to high silt in the Sutlej river in the past two years.

"On the basis of 12 per cent royalty to Himachal and by virtue of 25 per cent equity in the mammoth project, the state government gets 2,170 million units of electricity every year, while the rest goes to the northern grid, which in turn feeds seven states of northern India," said DD Bharghav, a senior official of the Nathpa project.

The project has six units of 250 Mw capacity each. But often, all six units are down due to heavy silt in the water in summers, which can corrode and damage the turbines. In winters, due to low discharge in the river only two to three units function.

"Around 70 per cent of the length of the Sutlej is in Tibet. The fast-moving waters bring downstream a lot of silt, which often hampers the running of the project and can corrode the machines," said Bhargav.

"We do hope to run all the six units from May onwards when the water level rises in the Sutlej due to the melting of snows over the high mountians un-stream," he said.

A reservoir is being planned midway which would reduce the silt to the Nathpa project and other hydel projects in the power rich Sutlej basin. The Nathpa project took fifteen years to complete at a whopping Rs 8657 crore.