Home Economy Nathpa Jhakri power plant shutdown continues

Nathpa Jhakri power plant shutdown continues

By IANS,

Shimla : The 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri hydel power project in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, which also supplies electricity to other states in north India, remained closed for the third consecutive day Friday due to high silt level in the Sutlej river.

The plant has been closed since Wednesday after the silt content in the river increased to 7,500 parts per million (ppm). The permissible limit is 4,000 ppm.

“However, it has reduced to 5,500 ppm,” Vijay Kumar Verma, deputy general manager of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam, told IANS Friday.

Verma said that power generation could be resumed in a day or two.

The Nigam is losing Rs.90 million due to the shutdown and the losses incurred so far is more than Rs.200 million, the official added.

The closure has led to a power crisis in northern India. The northern power grid came under strain as the states procuring power from the Nathpa Jhakri project were forced to overdraw from the grid.

The project has been generating about 38 million units every day. Punjab is getting 114 MW power daily from the project, Haryana 64 MW, Chandigarh 8 MW, Himachal Pradesh 547 MW, Delhi 142 MW, Jammu and Kashmir 105 MW, Rajasthan 112 MW, Uttar Pradesh 225 MW and Uttrakhand 38 MW.