Decreased water level affects power generation at Sutlej plant

Power generation at a hydroelectric plant in Himachal Pradesh has been hit due to lowering of the river water level as a consequence of freezing weather conditions at higher altitudes.

The 1500 MW Sutlej Jal Vidhut Nigam (SJVNL) power project in Shimla, supplies 547 megawatts of electricity to the state, Himachal Pradesh and eight other neighbouring states, including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh.

The reduction of power supply is adversely affecting the other states as well.

Meanwhile, authorities at the power plant said that consumption of electricity was more compared to last year and due to scarcity of water they power generation has been adversely affected.

"Water content in the river has reduced to 70 cumec in winter now where it used to be 1500-1600 cumec during summer. During summer, we consume 38 million units of electricity everyday and we are consuming 60 million units now. This year the consumption is more than last year,"said the general manager of the Sutlej Jal Vidhut Nigam (SJVNL) power project, Sanjeev Sood.

Sood said chilling winters cause dry season leading to a dip in the water level of the rivers.

"Whenever there is winter atop the hills then the rivers freeze. The water content in the rivers also decreases when there is snowfall. The main reason for reduction of water in the river is snowfall and freezing of rivers,"said Sood.

The other power projects in Sutlaj River valley and other rivers in the state were also facing similar problems resulting in reduction of power generation.

In higher altitudes, the temperature has dropped to sub-zero level, with some states witnessing lowest minimum temperatures.

Located in the tropics, most of India witnesses very hot summers and largely temperate winters.