| Clean,
efficient and environmentally – sensitive,
hydropower– hydel, as it is known – has come to be
regarded as ideal fuel. Hydro power is a renewable
economic, non polluting and environmentally benign
source of energy. Hydro power stations have inherent
ability for instantaneous starting, stopping, load
variations etc. and help in improving reliability of
power system. Hydro stations are the best choice for
meeting the peak demand. The generation cost is not
only inflation free but reduces with time.
Hydroelectric projects have long useful life extending
over 50 years and help in conserving scarce fossil
fuels. They also help in opening of avenues for
development of remote and backward areas.The mandate
of the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVN) –
formerly known as Nathpa Jhakri Power Corporation (NJPC),
incorporated on May 24, 1988 as a joint venture of the
Government of India and the Government of Himachal
Pradesh – is to harness the hydel power potential of
the country, by planning, executing and running such
power projects.
In 1998, Government of India announced “Policy on
Hydro Power Development” under which impetus is
given to development of hydropower in the country.
This was a welcome step towards effective utilization
of our water resources in the direction of hydropower
development. During October 2001, Central Electricity
Authority (CEA) came out with a ranking study which
prioritized and ranked the future executable projects.
Our country is endowed with enormous economically
exploitable and viable hydro potential assessed to be
about 84,000 MW at 60% load factor (1,48,701 MW
installed capacity). In addition, 6781.81 MW in terms
of installed capacity from small, mini and micro hydel
schemes have been assessed. Also, 56 sites for pumped
storage schemes with an aggregate installed capacity
of 94,000 MW have been identified. However, only 15%
of the hydroelectric potential has been harnessed so
far and 7% is under various stages of development.
Thus, 78% of the potential remains without any plan
for exploitation. The basin wise assessed potential is
as under:
| Basin/Rivers |
Probable
Installed Capacity (MW) |
| Indus
Basin |
33,832 |
| Ganga
Basin |
20,711 |
| Central
Indian River System |
4,152 |
| Western
Flowing Rivers of southern India |
9,430 |
| Eastern
Flowing Rivers of southern India |
14,511 |
| Brahmaputra
Basin |
66,065 |
| Total |
1,48,701 |
The exploitation of hydro-potential has not been up
to the desired level due to various constraints
confronting the sector. Some of these are technical
(difficult investigation, inadequacies in tunneling
methods), financial (deficiencies in providing long
term financing), tariff related issues and managerial
weaknesses (poor contract management). The hydro
projects are also affected by geological surprises
(especially in the Himalayan region where underground
tunneling is required), inaccessibility of the area,
problems due to delay in land acquisition, and
resettlement of project affected families etc. |
