Shimla,
An exceptionally dry winter has severely affected hydro power generation on run-of-the river projects in Himachal Pradesh due to record water crunch in the Sutlej, a perennial snow-fed river in the state.
The extreme weather conditions prevailing in the Himalayan regions have dramatically depleted the water flow of Sutlej river, shrinking it to one seventeenth, pulling down electricity generation of the 1500MWs Nathpa Jakhari hydro project in Himachal to record low.
“The wintry drought in Himachal Pradesh has caused a water discharge crunch in the Sutlej river. During peak months of July and August average water volume reads 1200cumecs which has nowadays shrunk down to very meager 70cumecs only,” said Manoj Kumar, the Executive Director of Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL), a government owned PSU which runs the 1500MWs hydro power project built on Sutlej river in Shimla and Kinnuar districts in Himachal Pradesh.
The record fall in the water flow in the river Sutlej was registered after 17years , hitting the power production in the project.
The Director execution Manoj Kumar says that the electricity generation in this hydro project has fallen to less than 6million units, less than one sixth of the peak season production which touches 39 millions units during summers.
This dramatic fall in the power production will hit the revenue generation worth crores of rupees of both state and the Centre government.
Himachal Pradesh has been witnessing exceptional dry winters for the last 80 days spelling disasters for apple farmers, tourism stakeholders and hydro power producers across the state.
The heavy monsoon rains had devastated the state last year in 2023 causing loss worth Rs 12000cr and now winter too is spelling drought with extreme snowless or rainless weather. The last December experienced 85 percent precipitation deficit in the state and January also not obliging with benign weather.
