Flood silt hits hydropower generation in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, J&K

Hydropower projects in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been hit badly due to the floods in July. Following heavy rainfall in these two states as well as in other states in the North, the hydro projects were full of silt and could not be used to generate power. 

"The total revenue loss due to the shutdown of the hydropower projects in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand is ₹164.07 crore. Out of this, ₹111.68 crore loss is due to central sector hydro projects, private sector loss is ₹36.78 crore and the remaining is due to projects owned by the two states," says a senior Central Electricity Authority official. 

"Due to heavy rains and high silt, a number of hydro projects under operation by Central and State PSUs were temporarily shut down. In addition, some private sector projects were also shut down. All hydroelectric projects except Larji HEP (126 MW) of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited have already been re-operationalised. LarjiHEP is likely to be fully operationalised only by January 2024," the official adds.

Similarly, for the Dehar hydro project with a capacity of 990MW, the loss is in terms of generation as no tariff is being charged by Bhakra Beas Management Board. "The total generation loss in this project is 563.81 lakh units. In terms of revenue, BBMB supplies energy to partner states against their share quota. No tariff is being charged by BBMB," says the official.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) constituted inter-ministerial central teams for an on-the-spot first hand assessment of the damage and relief work carried out in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand by the respective state administration.

The teams were led by MHA and included representatives from the Ministries/departments of agriculture, finance (department of expenditure), jal shakti (department of water resources), power, road transport & highways, rural development and national remote sensing centre (NRSC). Apart from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, hydro projects in Jammu and Kashmir have also been hit. 

According to National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), the plants were shut for several days amid concerns that heavy silting may impact the turbines and the halt partially impacted power generation. 

"Overground work on under-construction projects generally remains halted during the monsoon rains, while the underground work continues," says an NHPC official on the condition of anonymity.

Two projects of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam in Himachal Pradesh were hit due to silt. Nathpa Jhakri hydroelectric project (1500 MW) and Rampur hydropower project on the Sutlej River were shut. "Hydropower projects usually can operate with silt levels of up to 5000 ppm (parts per million). However, the silt level on Sutlej touched 30,000 and we could not generate power with so much silt," says the official.

Another state-run hydropower major THDC, however, has not faced major impact of silting as its project is reservoir-based, says a company spokesperson. "Heavy rains at the start of the monsoon would help us fill the reservoirs," the spokesperson says.

These projects supply power to a number of North Indian states and a prolonged closure of these plants have impacted power supply. The incessant rains have resulted in loss of lives and the destruction of property in parts of North India.

According to reports, around 40 people have lost their lives in landslides and other rain-related incidents in the past couple of days with Himachal Pradesh being one of the worst-affected states.

According to the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, the total loss is likely to be more than ₹5077.41 crore. The authority says that there have been 66 incidents of landslides in the state besides 47 incidents of flash floods.

The monsoon has claimed 154 lives in Himachal Pradesh alone with more than 15 people missing and hundreds injured. More than 500 houses were completely damaged and another 5265 houses were damaged partially. 650 roads, including three national highways have been damaged and have been closed for safety. 

On August 4, Himachal Pradesh's chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "I told him everything related to the disaster, the loss, the roads that are damaged & the number of drains that have been closed. I asked them to release the first list of interim lists. I am thankful to PM Modi as he assured me that it will be released at the earliest."