By IANS
Shimla : The Nathpa Jhakri hydel project in Himachal Pradesh has generated record power this year, company officials said Friday.
The 1500-MW hydel project, the largest in the country, is built on the Sutlej river, some 150 km from here. The project went into operation four years ago and is run by the Satlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL), a joint venture of the government of India and the government of Himachal Pradesh.
“On Feb 7 this year, the Nathpa project became the first single hydel power station in the country to generate 6000 million units of electricity,” R.P. Singh, director electrical wing of the SJVNL, told reporters here Friday.
According to company officials, the project has been performing below its potential since it started operation because of the high silt in the waters of the Sutlej. But last year the silt levels were lower which helped the record power generation this year, they said.
“The highest generation has been achieved despite all odds the plant faced like adverse hydrology, flash floods and high-silt contents,” Singh said.
“This means more power will be available to the power deficit northern grid,” he said.
“The power generation of the Nathpa project last year was 5491 million units (MU), while during the current year it has already surpassed 6000 MU with 53 days still to go before the financial year ends,” Singh explained and hoped that some 6400 MU would be generated from the project by March this year.
The power station supplies electricity to Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.