Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

is extremely rich in its

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

resources. The state has about twenty five percent of the national potential. About 27,436 MW of hydroelectric power can be generated in the state by the construction of various hydroelectric projects on the five perennial river basins. Out of total hydroelectric potential of the state, 10,519 MW is harnessed so far, out of which only 7.6% is under the control of Himachal Pradesh Government while the rest is exploited by the Central Government. The state government has been giving the highest priority for its development, since hydroelectric generation can meet the growing need of power for industry,

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and rural electrification. It is also the biggest source of income to the state as it provides electricity to other states. Himachal has enough resources to generate surplus power but in winter less flow of water in rivers and increases in lighting and heating load can result in power shortages that overshoot ten

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

units per day. Due to increased industrialization and rural electrification this figure is expected to rise even further.

Completed projects

Girinagar Hydel Project

Situated on the river Girinagar of the

Sirmour District Sirmaur is the southernmost district of Himachal Pradesh, northern India. It is largely mountainous and rural, with 90% of its population living in villages. Some of its towns include the capital Nahan, Tuheri, Bhawan, Shamra, UchaTik ...

, Girinagar Hydel project has an installed capacity of 60 MW, with 2 units of 30 MW each. This project, which is run-off-the-river scheme comes under HPSEB and is operational for 29 years. This project completed in 1966 by state government.

Binwa Hydel Project

The project has an installed capacity of 6 MW comprising 2 units of 3 MW each., located near Baijnath in District Kangra. The project is situated 25 km from Palampur and 14 km from Baijnath is constructed at an elevation of 1515 meters above sea level. This project constitutes a 62-meter-long tunnel that connects trench weirs in Banu Khad and Prahal Khud.

Sanjay Vidyut Pariyojna

Located in the

Kinnaur district Kinnaur is one of the twelve administrative districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas (Kalpa, Nichar (Bhabanagar), and Pooh) and has six tehsils. The administrative he ...

, on the river Bhaba is a completely underground project with an installed capacity of 120 MW, comprising 3 units each of 40 MW. The uniqueness of this project lies in its underground switchyard, a feature that no other hydel project in Asia can brag about. Completed in 1989-90, the estimated cost was about 167 crore rupees. The total length of tunnels including those secured in after completing the project is 12 km.

Bassi Hydroelectric Project

Bassi project (66 MW) is an extension of Beas Power House ( Mandi District) constituting 4 units of 16.5 MW each. It utilizes the tail water of Shannon Power House of Joginder Nagar project.

Larji Hydroelectric Project

Larji hydroelectric project is on river Beas in Kullu district with an installed capacity of 126 MW.In 2014 14 Students died due to releasing its waters. The project was completed in September 2007.

Andhra Hydel Project

Commissioned during the year 1987-88, the project has 3 units of 5.5 MW which makes it 16.5 MW of installed capacity. It is located in Rohru tehsil of

Shimla district Shimla is a District (India), district in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. Its headquarters is the state capital of Shimla. Neighbouring districts are Mandi District, Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, Uttarakhand ...

. The cost of the project was estimated to be around 9.74 crores, transmitting to the state grid via the Nogli power house near Rampur.

Rongtong Hydel Project.

Rongtong is a 2 MW project that is located in the ''Lahaul-Spiti district'' on Rongtong Nullaha, a tributary of ''Spiti'' river. Located at an elevation of 3,600 metres in a snow adhered region, this was the first hydel project executed for the socio-economic upliftment of the tribals of this area. It is one of the highest in the world. The snow fed water runnel tapped at an elevation of 3,788 m is diverted through 2,825 m long channel and 259 m long tunnel into an open reservoir with a capacity of 14,000 cubic m. Renovated by APE Power Pvt. Ltd., APE Power also renovate RUKTI (4 × 375 KW) Hydro Electric project.

Baner and Neugal Project

With the combined installed capacity of 12 MW the projects are situated on Baner and Neugal streams respectively in

Kangra District Kangra is the most populous district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Kangra is known for having the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch. In 1758 ...

. Both of the streams emerge from Dhauladhar and join Beas in the form of tributaries in south. Is is in 2 districts the power house is in shimla and the dam is in nathpa which is in Kinnaur district.

Nathpa Jhakri Project

One of the major project on the

Sutlej The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...

river is the ''

Nathpa Jhakri Dam The Nathpa Jhakri Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Sutlej river in Himachal Pradesh, India. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and it supplies a underground power station with water. Before reaching the power s ...

'' which generates nearly 1500 MW of electricity. The project is funded by

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. its construction cost is around 8000 crores.

Sainj Hydroelectric Project

Installed Capacity 100 MW. ×50 MW It is situated in Kullu district.

Bhakra Dam

The Bhakra Dam has the first Dam to have come up on the Satluj river, it is one of the highest gravity dams in the world and has an Installed capacity of 1325 MW. The dam holds excess waters during the monsoon and provides a regulated release during the year . It also prevents damage due to monsoon floods. The dam provides irrigation to 10 million acres (40,000 km²) of fields in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Bhakra Dam is established on 1954.

References

https://www.hpseb.in/ webpage of himachal pradesh state electricity board limited Balokhra, Jag Mohan (2013)- "The Wonderland HIMACHAL PRADESH - An Encyclopedia On The State of Western Himalayas", 4. Economic survey of Himachal Pradesh 2014-15{{Economy HP Energy in Himachal Pradesh Hydroelectricity in India https://www.hpseb.in/