BHEL roped in for Larji power plant restoration

Shimla, August 30

The government has roped in Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for the restoration of Larji hydroelectric power plant in Kullu district. The 126 MW hydroelectric project, which is managed by Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited, suffered huge damage when the Beas waters entered the plant in July.

Team visits site

A team from BHEL has already visited the site and negotiations are on with BHEL to decide the monetary terms for the restoration work. Once the monetary terms are decided, we are hopeful that one unit of the plant will become functional by November.

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Rajeev Sharma, Secretary Power

“A team from BHEL has already visited the site and negotiations are on with BHEL to decide the monetary terms for the restoration work,” said Rajeev Sharma, Secretary Power. “Once the monetary terms are decided, we are hopeful that one unit of the plant will become functional by November,” he said. The 126 MW power plant has three units of 42 MW each.

Sharma said the plant had suffered significant damage and efforts would be made to salvage maximum parts and equipment. “With the help of these salvaged parts, we will try to get one unit functional by November,” said Sharma. He further said that the machines at the plant were made in Ukraine. Hence, it would be difficult to get spare parts, especially at a short notice.

Incidentally, the state government has sent a Rs 658-crore damage report to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), seeking compensation for the devastation caused at the power project allegedly due to the construction of a double-decker four-lane road.

Meanwhile, a few days back, the penstock of the plant sustained some damage due to a landslide. “It was a big landslide and caused substantial damage to the penstock. It would further delay the restoration of the plant,” said an HPSEBL official, adding that the HPSEBL employees had cleaned and de-silted the plant.

On a positive note, the power generation is back to over 92 per cent in the state after taking a major hit due to landslides and flashfloods over the last two months. “Against the total installed capacity of 11,061 MW, the production is currently at 10,254 MW. The major plants still not functional are Larji, Parbati 3, Patikari, Tosh, etc.,” said Sharma.