State-run National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited, the largest hydel power company of the country, is betting big on Arunachal Pradesh which is estimated to have hydro-power potential of more than 50,000 megawatt(Mw).
Speaking to Business Standard, SK Garg, chairman and managing director, NHPC Limited said, “Arunachal Pradesh has huge hydro potential. The state is estimated to have potential of 50,000 Mw of which some 400 Mw has been tapped. We will focus on Arunachal this year and are working on six projects, one of which is under construction.” The company has identified six projects with a capacity of 10,000 Mw, of which one 2000 Mw plant is under construction.
The other projects in Arunachal Pradesh are Diwang with a capacity of 3,000 Mw which is under construction, Tawang I and Tawang II with a capacity of 1,500 mw (750 Mw each), Subansiri Middle with 1,600 Mw capacity and Subansiri Upper with 2,000 Mw capacity. The company has capacity addition plans for the XI and XII plans with a capex of Rs 21,600 crore for the XI plan and Rs 30,000 crore for the XII plan. It has firmed up investments of Rs 70,000 crore till 2020 to scale up its capacity to 20,000 Mw.
During the current plan, the company wants to invest Rs 21,000 crore in 11 projects with a capacity of 4,622 Mw. “Beyond XI Plan, we are in the process of executing 16 projects with a capacity of 14,000 Mw. These will come up between 2012-20. By 2020, we hope to cross 10,000 Mw and beyond 2020, we hope to cross 20,000 Mw,” he added.
It plans to open eight to nine power stations by the end of 2012. It has identified 16 projects with installed capacity of 14,000 Mw in Arunachal, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and Manipur. The company is also looking at Bhutan and Myanmar. “We have been asked to prepare Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for three projects in Bhutan with a capacity of 3,000 Mw. One have been submitted and two will be submitted by 2010-11,” said Garg.
In Myanmar, NHPC have signed a MoU with the government last year to prepare the DPRs of two projects with a capacity of 1,820 Mw. While in Bhutan, the company has submitted the Mangnetchu hydel project DPR, in Myanmar, it has submitted DPRs for Tamanti and Suzaw hydel projects. It is now awaiting clearance from the Indian government.
The company at present has an installed capacity of 5,175 Mw with 13 power stations. It contributes 14 per cent of India’s hydel power capacity and accounts for 3.7 per cent of the country’s power generation. “There is a huge potential in the hydro-power sector in the country estimated at 1,48,000 Mw, of which 37,000 Mw have been tapped. With the government’s focus on increasing the hydro-thermal mix to 40:60, we hope to take up more projects,” said Garg.
The company is also looking at more joint ventures. It recently formed a JV with NTPC, PGCIL, NHPC and DVC known as National High Power Testing Laboratory Private Limited, with the objective of testing various power equipment. The company is going to float its much-awaited IPO in August this year to raise Rs 1,680 crore.