Himachal power project shut down, Delhi hit

September 9th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh, which has a potential to generate 20,416 MW of hydroelectric power, decided Wednesday to invite bids to develop 54 small hydro projects, according to an official statement. "The state cabinet Wednesday allowed Himurja (the state energy development agency) to invite bids to execute 54 identified small hydroelectric projects ranging from 0.40 MW to 5 MW," said the statement.

July 25th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh, which has a potential to generate 20,416 MW hydroelectric power, has decided to set up 50 new micro hydel projects with the help of small players. "The government has identified 50 mini hydroelectric projects across the state ranging up to 5 MW.

July 14th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh Tuesday asked mini hydropower project producers to provide funds for the development of the areas where the power plants have been commissioned, a government spokesperson said. "The state government decided that all private power producers generating hydroelectricity up to 100 KW (0.1 MW) will have to provide three percent of the income generated from the project to the local gram panchayat for the first 12 years and six percent thereafter.

July 1st, 2009 SHIMLA - Punjab and Haryana have started getting more electricity from Himachal Pradesh from Wednesday, say officials. "Now, Punjab will get an additional 10 lakh units and Haryana four lakh units daily till the month-end," said Suneel Grover, Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board's director of generation.

June 5th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh, which has begun selling hydropower to energy-deficient Haryana and Delhi, will begin supplying electricity to neighbouring Punjab next week. "We (the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board) will start feeding two million units daily to Punjab from June 1," board's director of generation Sunil Grover told IANS.

May 29th, 2009 SHIMLA - Himachal Pradesh Friday entered into an agreement with Kolkata-based Eastern Mineral and Trading Agency (EMTA) for setting up a 500-MW thermal power plant in West Bengal, from where the electricity generated will be transmitted back home. The plant will be established at Raniganj.

March 31st, 2009 SHIMLA - Hydroelectric power generation at the 1,500-MW Nathpa-Jhakri project in Himachal Pradesh touched a record 6,600 million units this financial year, officials said Tuesday. 'The Nathpa-Jhakri station has achieved a record generation of 6,600 million units in 2008-09,' H.K.

March 21st, 2009 SHIMLA - The government of Himachal Pradesh has intensified the security measures at six hydel project sites in the state, including the Bhakra Dam, after receiving several threats from the militant outfits. The other project sites put on a terror alert includes the Chamera hydel project stage I and II in Chamba District, 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakhri Project, Pong Dam and Pandoh Dam in Mandi District.

February 24th, 2009 SHIMLA - Hydroelectric power generation in Himachal Pradesh has fallen 75 to 80 percent this winter after several water channels froze across the state, triggering a shortage of 1,000 million units per day, officials said. 'Hydropower generation in all our run-of-river plants has dipped 75 to 80 percent due to decline in water levels,' Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) power (generation) director Sunil Grover told IANS.

February 16th, 2009 SHIMLA - Indian public sector hydropower undertaking Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), which operates the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh, Tuesday paid an interim dividend of Rs.825 million (Rs.82.5 crore) to the central government for this financial year, the company said. Company chairman and managing director H.K.

February 14th, 2009 SHIMLA - Four labourers were buried alive while working in a tunnel for a power project in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, the police said Sunday. 'Four labourers, who were working in a penstock tunnel, were killed when debris fell on them this (Sunday) evening,' Kullu Superintendent of Police Jagat Ram told IANS.

February 8th, 2009 AIZAWL - A 460 MW hydroelectric project will be set up by state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Mizoram, officials said here Monday. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between NTPC and the Mizoram government to commission the Rs.30 billion power project in Sahia and Lawngtlai districts of southern Mizoram.

January 28th, 2009 SHIMLA - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will soon release the first instalment of a multimillion-dollar loan for the construction of four medium to large run-of-river hydropower generating plants in Himachal Pradesh, a senior official said Thursday. 'ADB said it will release the first instalment of the sanctioned loan of $800 million shortly,' Himachal Pradesh Power Corp (HPPCL) managing director Tarun Kapoor told IANS.

January 9th, 2009 SHIMLA - Free electricity would be given to families affected by hydropower projects of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL) in the state, a government official said Saturday. The HPPCL, a public sector undertaking, has seven mega hydropower projects, including the Rs.27 billion (Rs.2,700 crore or $561 million) Renuka Dam that will provide drinking water to Delhi.

January 2nd, 2009 SHIMLA - The central government has allowed Himachal Pradesh to begin building a multi-billion rupee hydroelectric project that will provide drinking water to Delhi, an official here said Saturday. 'The Environment Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests has allowed the state government to start the dam construction,' Tarun Kapoor, director of the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL), told IANS.