{"id":60515,"date":"2025-03-24T04:58:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T04:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/?p=60515"},"modified":"2025-03-24T04:58:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T04:58:02","slug":"jk-government-seeks-iit-roorkee-nhpcs-expertise-to-revive-underperforming-hydropower-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/24\/jk-government-seeks-iit-roorkee-nhpcs-expertise-to-revive-underperforming-hydropower-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"J&K Government Seeks IIT Roorkee & NHPC\u2019s Expertise to Revive Underperforming Hydropower Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid declining power generation<\/strong> from several hydroelectric projects<\/strong> and forced shutdowns<\/strong>, the Jammu and Kashmir government<\/strong> is consulting IIT Roorkee and NHPC<\/strong> to revive projects producing significantly lower power than their design capacity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Decline in Power Generation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to an official document<\/strong> accessed by Daily Excelsior<\/em>, 13 hydroelectric projects<\/strong> in J&K<\/strong> have a combined capacity of 1,197.4 MW<\/strong> and a design energy output of 5,318.11 million units<\/strong>. However, in FY 2023-24<\/strong>, these projects generated only 4,913.28 million units<\/strong>, highlighting a shortfall in expected output<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Some of the worst-affected projects include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    Upper Sindh Hydropower Project (USHP-I)<\/strong>: 36.79 million units<\/strong> generated against 106.62 million units<\/strong> (design energy).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    USHP-II<\/strong>: 141.83 million units<\/strong> generated against 447.37 million units<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Ganderbal<\/strong>: 18.46 million units<\/strong> generated against 90.15 million units<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Chenani-I<\/strong>: 60.59 million units<\/strong> generated against 110.02 million units<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Chenani-II<\/strong>: 0.30 million units<\/strong> generated against 12 million units<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Chenani-III<\/strong>: 4.45 million units<\/strong> generated against 36.71 million units<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Bhaderwah & Sewa-III<\/strong>: Zero power generation<\/strong>, despite having a design energy of 8.32 million units and 33.6 million units, respectively<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Causes of Reduced Power Generation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    The decline in power output<\/strong> is attributed to several factors:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n

      Climate Change<\/strong>: Decreased hydrology over time has affected water availability for power generation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    2. \n

      Aging Infrastructure<\/strong>: Several projects, including 23.3 MW Chenani-I, 105 MW LJHEP, and 22.6 MW USHP-I<\/strong>, have exceeded their design life of 35 years<\/strong>, leading to frequent breakdowns<\/strong> and rising maintenance costs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    3. \n

      Complete Shutdowns<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • \n

        Sewa-III<\/strong> has been non-operational since August 2013<\/strong> due to damage from torrential rains<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n

        IIT Roorkee prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) in March 2022<\/strong>, estimating a \u20b976.68 crore revival cost<\/strong>, including civil repairs and replacement of electro-mechanical equipment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        J&K\u2019s Revival Strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

        To restore power generation capacity<\/strong>, the J&K Power Development Corporation (JKPDC)<\/strong> is developing a technical and financially viable plan<\/strong> for the revival of Sewa-III and other underperforming projects<\/strong>. IIT Roorkee and NHPC are actively advising JKPDC on implementing effective solutions<\/strong> to bring these plants back to full potential<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        Expanding J&K\u2019s Hydroelectric Potential<\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Despite underperformance in older plants<\/strong>, J&K is fast-tracking new hydropower projects<\/strong> to maximize its energy potential<\/strong>. A total of 15 projects<\/strong> are at various stages of development<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • \n

          6 projects (2,063.5 MW)<\/strong> are under construction<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          2 projects (141 MW)<\/strong> are at the award stage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          7 projects (4,563.5 MW)<\/strong> are under DPR\/clearance stage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          The government has partnered with NHPC, Joint Venture Companies (CVPPL & RHPCL), and private power producers<\/strong> to accelerate hydroelectric development.<\/p>\n

          Way Forward<\/strong><\/h3>\n

          With support from IIT Roorkee and NHPC<\/strong>, J&K aims to:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • \n

            Modernize aging hydropower projects<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          • \n

            Implement advanced hydrology management<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          • \n

            Ensure optimal power generation<\/strong> to meet growing energy demands.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            The revival of underperforming projects<\/strong>, along with new developments<\/strong>, will significantly enhance J&K\u2019s power capacity<\/strong>, reducing dependence on external sources and boosting energy security.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Amid declining power generation from several hydroelectric projects and forced shutdowns, the Jammu and Kashmir government is consulting IIT Roorkee and NHPC to revive projects producing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60515","post","has-post-thumbnail","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60516,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60515\/revisions\/60516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}