Himachal’s hydropower plant remains shut for fifth day
By IANSMonday, August 9, 2010
SHIMLA - The 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri hydropower project in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh remained closed for the fifth day Monday as the silt level in the Sutlej river was higher than the permissible limit of 4,000 ppm (parts per million).
The shutdown has hit power supply to states like Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, among others.
The silt content had come down to 9,000 ppm from 36,000 ppm, Vijay Verma, deputy general manager of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL), the company that runs the project, told IANS.
“The generation is likely to resume Tuesday morning,” he added.
This is the fourth closure of the plant this fiscal. Earlier, the plant was closed for five days from July 26 due to rise in silt level.
The closure of power generation has caused a daily loss of Rs.9 crore.
The SJVNL, a joint venture between the centre and the state government, daily generates about 38 million units, which are supplied to Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
