NHPC’s Parbati Project Phase-II all units get operational  

Parbati-II Hydroelectric Project, with a total installed capacity of 800 MW (4 x 200 MW), is a ‘run of the river’ project, in which small pondage has been constructed on the Parbati River in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.

NHPC has successfully completed the commercial operation of the last and fourth unit of Parbati Project Phase-II on 16th April. Earlier, on April 1st, three units of the project have successfully started commercial operation. With this, NHPC has completed the construction of this ambitious project of the country.

Parbati-II Hydroelectric Project, with a total installed capacity of 800 MW (4 x 200 MW), is a ‘run of the river’ project, in which small pondage has been constructed on the Parbati River in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. By constructing an 83.7 m high concrete gravity dam near Pulga village in Manikaran valley, the flow of Parbati River is diverted and the water is being taken to Sainj Valley through a 31.56 km long head race tunnel, where a power house has been constructed at Siund village. The total height of 863 m between Pulga and Siund is being utilised for generating 800 MW of power. The water flow of Parbati is further increased by the mixing of water from five nalas coming along the head race tunnel. The power house has 4 Pelton turbines of 200 MW each. The 31.56 km long HRT of the project is the longest hydroelectric tunnel in India. The two inclined pressure shafts, each 1545.5 m long, are the longest inclined pressure shaft tunnels in the world dug by Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM).

The State of Himachal Pradesh will get 12 percent free power from the project and the additional 1% free power will be used for Local Area Development Fund. The foundation stone of the project was laid by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 12 December 1999. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the project cost of Rs. 3919.59 crore on 11.09.2002. The construction of the project started in September 2002. During construction the project has faced many challenges such as cloud burst, flash flood, back-slope failure, siltation with heavy discharge and shear zone etc. The estimated completion cost of the project is Rs. 13,045 crore. The design energy of the project is 3074 million units (MU). With the commissioning of this project the generation capacity of Parbati-III power station of 520 MW capacity will also increase by 1262 million units per annum.

In the project area, NHPC has constructed 15 bridges and about 88 km of road and disbursed Rs. 112 crore for local area development. NHPC has spent a total of Rs. 27.83 crore under CSR and has completed various activities in the field of health, social and community welfare under this scheme. Permanent employment has been provided to 20 project affected persons. In addition, indirect employment has been provided to 349 persons, 98 percent of whom are from the local area. In addition, 1361 persons have been employed in the project during the construction of the project, out of which 1171 are local residents of Himachal. Livelihood support is being provided to 370 Project Affected Families (PAF). 58 vehicles have been hired from the project affected families. Kendriya Vidyalaya is being run at Sainj for the benefit of local residents, the running cost of which is more than Rs. 04 crore per year. Out of total 422 students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, 411 students are from the local area. An amount of Rs. 4 crore has been provided for construction of extension of Regional Hospital building at Kullu.

NHPC Limited is a Navratna Public Sector Undertaking under the aegis of Ministry of Power, Government of India. It is India’s largest hydropower development organisation having capability to execute all activities from conception to commissioning of hydropower projects. NHPC has also diversified into development of solar and wind energy etc. After commissioning of this project, the total installed capacity of the Company is 8140.04 MW (including 1681.7 MW in joint venture), which includes 7771.20 MW from 23 hydropower stations, 368.84 MW from six solar power and one wind power projects. In addition, NHPC has a portfolio of 9896.86 MW projects under construction, which includes eight hydropower projects of 8514 MW (including five 3134 MW in joint venture) and seven solar projects of 1382.86 MW.

NHPC is a green energy company generating power only from renewable sources. Commissioning of the prestigious Parbati-II Project is a proud achievement for NHPC in its Golden Jubilee year.