By IANS,
Shimla : The 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydropower Project in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh remained closed for the seventh day Tuesday because of the high silt level.
The silt content in the Sutlej river crossed 9,500 ppm (parts per million), whereas the permissible limit is 4,000 ppm, forcing the authorities to suspend power generation in all the six units of 250 MW each.
The closure has affected the electricity supply to other states in north India, including Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.
The silt level Tuesday was 5,400 ppm, while the river flow was 1,110 cusecs against the normal flow of 400 to 600 cusecs, Vijay Verma, deputy general manager of Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam, told IANS.
He said the sudden inflow of the silt was due to melting of glaciers in the catchment of the Spiti river.
He said in 2005 the project was closed for 32 days due to a flash flood in the Beas river.
The closure of power generation is causing a daily loss of Rs.90 million ($2.2 million) to the project authorities.