By Arun Pratap Singh
New Delhi, 16 Mar: Union Power Minister RK Singh today informed the Lok Sabha that, as per the reassessment study of hydro potential in the country carried out during 1978-1987 by the Central Electricity Authority, the assessed hydro power potential from large hydro power projects (capacity above 25 MW) in the State of Uttarakhand is 17,998 MW. Of these, the potential capacity of conventional hydropower projects in Uttarakhand has been estimated at 14,670 MW while, in multipurpose projects, the potential capacity has been estimated to be 3360 MW. The minister also stated that, currently, no Hydropower projects pertaining to Uttarakhand are pending approval of the Central Electricity Authority.
It may be recalled that some of the projects are fully operational while many are in various stages of development including those which were stalled due to technical reasons such as litigation or are pending environmental clearance. In the conventional category, projects worth a capacity of 3,975 MW are operational. Projects with a capacity of 1271 MW are under development. Projects with a capacity of 4407 MW have been allocated for development. It is worth noting that projects worth a capacity of 2457 MW are stalled currently due to various reasons including interstate issues, litigation or due to basin drop issue.
At the same time, also in the conventional category, projects worth a total capacity of 2,563 MW are yet to be allotted for development by the state government.
In the multipurpose category, not a single project is currently operational. Projects worth a capacity of 300 MW are under development. DPR has been prepared for projects worth a capacity of 1335 MW, while DPR is under preparation for projects worth a capacity of 660 MW. At the same time, also in the multipurpose category, projects worth a total capacity of 1065 MW are yet to be allotted for development by the state government.
It may be also interesting to note that currently 5 Hydropower projects of capacity of less than 25 MW each are under development. Of these, three are being developed by the state government while the remaining two are being developed by private companies.
Further, the assessed potential of Small Hydro Projects (of capacity below 25 MW) in Uttarakhand is 1664.31 MW, out of which, SHPs with installed capacity of 218.82 MW are under operation.
Presently, 7 Hydro Electric Projects (above 25 MW) totalling 2571 MW, including Tehri PSP of 1000 MW, are under implementation in Uttarakhand. Out of these, 5 Hydro Electric Projects totalling 2324 MW are under active construction and 2 Hydro Electric Projects totalling a capacity of 247 MW are presently stalled. Further, 4 SHPs with installed capacity of 65 MW are under implementation.
Currently, no Hydro Electric Project pertaining to the State of Uttarakhand is pending with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for concurrence. As per Section 8 (1) of the Electricity Act, 2003, any generating company intending to set up a hydro generating station has to prepare and submit to the Authority for its concurrence, a scheme estimated to involve a capital expenditure exceeding such sum (presently, Rs 1000 crores), as may be fixed by the Central Government, from time to time, by notification.
