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State-run NHPC has lost 550 million units in generation as its Dhauliganga hydel project in Uttarakhand is still undergoing repairs following landslides that had hit the hilly northern state in June.
It was a prime reason for decline in the company's profit in the July-September quarter, a senior NHPC official said, adding that it will be operational by March.
"Dhauliganga has given us less generation due to the flash floods. It is completely shut since June 16-17. Loss of generation has been to the tune of 550 million units in 3.5 months," A B L Srivastava, Director (Finance) NHPC told PTI.
"But we have assets insured, so the financial impact on the company would be much less," he said without elaborating.
He said that the repair work is on at the project site and the company is hopeful of re-starting the project by March, next year.
The 280 MW hydel project in Uttarakhand bore the brunt of rains followed by flash floods which devastated the state in June, this year.
The project, which was commissioned in October 2005, generates 1,134.70 million units of power annually.
The total cost of the hydel plant, which supplies power to Uttarakhand, UP, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, J&K, Haryana and Rajasthan, is Rs 1,578.31 crore.
The public sector company reported 9.67% drop in net profit at Rs 707.58 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013-14 fiscal.
The company had reported net profit of Rs 783.38 crore in the July-September quarter of the previous fiscal 2012-13.
NHPC scrip closed at Rs 18, up 0.28%, on the BSE on Thursday.
