NHPC power generation falls by 200-mn units on poor rainfall

State-run NHPC, today said its power generation capacity has declined by about 200 million units since April due to erratic monsoons this year.  

"We do have some decline in our generation over the last five months (April to August). We have lost around 200-million units," NHPC's Chairman and Managing Director S K Garg told reporters here. 

India has received 24 per cent less than normal rains this year, leading to a drought and drought-like situation in 278 districts in 11 states, according to the CCEA.

The hydro-power generator, which today got listed on the bourses, has 13 power stations located predominantly in the North and North-East of India, in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Sikkim and West Bengal. 

Two of its power plants in Madhya Pradesh — Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar — are purely rain-fed and have been affected by poor monsoons, Garg said. Besides, Loktak in Manipur, which generates 90 Mw of power, is also rain-fed. 

"The rest 10 are a mix of both snow-fed and rain-fed. But, we are hoping to catch up (on power generation) because we still have another seven months to go," he said. 

The company, which raised around Rs 6,037 crore through an IPO last month, however, plans to generate almost 17,200 million units in FY10.