SHIMLA- JULY 2, 2020
After reporting the second highest record generation of 7445 million units during the financial year 2020, and registering a 15 percent increase over the previous financial year, the SJVN’S 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri hydro power station in Himachal Pradesh has reported a 13 percent dip in electricity generation during the first quarter of current financial year. The continued cool weather during the month of April resulted in lower inflows in the snow fed Satluj river impacting the discharge and power generation confirmed Ravi Negi, Head of the Project. The unprecedented lean inflows experienced in river Satluj badly impacted hydro power generation at the 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri hydro power station. The power station has been able to generate 2140 million units of electricity during the first quarter of FY 20, against 2465 million units generated during the corresponding period of last year, he added.
He said that in the first month of the first quarter of the current financial year the discharge in the river was so low that the power plant could generate only 308 million units of electricity against 541 million units generated in the same month of last year.
The low discharge in the river was however more efficiently utilized in the month of May 2020 with generation of 726 million units of electricity and still bettering it to 1088 million units during the month of June.
Negi iadded that the total generation achieved was the result of efficiency of engineers and workers engaged at the plant. The power plant, he said was designed to generate about 6612 million units of electricity during the entire year while the past year’s second highest generation was an exception.
Negi further informed that the company was implementing a one megawatt solar power plant in the project area. This plant, he said, was under advanced stage of construction through the Solar Power Corporation of India. Already a 310 KW solar power plant is in in operation which is located at Surge shaft of the project. The power generation will be fed into the state grid for drawal for captive utilisation, he said.
During the previous financial year the power plant had generated 7445 million units of energy which was the second highest generation achieved ever since commercial operations of the power plant commenced in 2003-04. The Plant Availability Factor during the past year had been recorded at 107 percent against 103 percent recorded earlier.
At the second stage a 412MW Rampur hydro power station is also generating over 2000 million units of electricity, he stated, thus adding to the operational efficiency of the upstream project and installed capacity of the company.