Shimla, Aug 18 (IANS) The country’s largest hydropower plant in Himachal Pradesh resumed generation Wednesday after remaining closed for more than 10 days due to increased silt in Sutlej river.
Power generation in the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri project was restored around 4 p.m. as the silt level came down in the river, Vijay Verma, deputy general manager of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL), the company that operates the plant, told IANS.
The project was shut Aug 5 as the silt level rose beyond the permissible limit of 4,000 and 5,000 ppm (part per million) owing to continuous heavy rainfall in the catchment areas.
‘Now, the power supply to the buyer states has been normalised,’ Verma added.
The closure of the plant has caused a daily loss of Rs.9 crore to project authorities.
The SJVNL, a joint venture between the central government and the Himachal 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.
