“Landslide hits Tehri ops, may affect power” by D.S. Kunwar, Times of India

Kunwar, D.S. “Landslide hits Tehri ops, may affect power.” The Times of India. 19 December 2010.

By D.S. Kunwar

December 19, 2010

DEHRADUN: Power supply to Delhi and some northern states may suffer because a landslide on Friday has halted operations at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC). The flow of over 800 cusecs from the Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganga, into four turbines has been stopped, THDC sources said. Debris from the landslip has blocked a diversion tunnel forcing a stop to generation from the 1,000MW hydroelectric project in Uttarakhand.

Delhi Transco officials said the national capital receives only 150-200MW out of its total seasonal requirement of about 3,200 MW from the Tehri project. “We don’t see a major supply problem,” said a Transco official. THDC sources aid it might take more than a week to fully repair the tunnel and clear the debris.

According to THDC officials, with the suspension of water supply, the entire process of power generation has virtually stopped resulting in losses to the tune of Rs 10 core per day. The landslide struck the under-construction 400-MW Koteshwar Hydro Project, a part of the second phase of the THDC’s mega 2400MW project, spread over 22 km covering Tehri and Koteshwar.

The tunnel, situated close to the Koteshwar plant, suffered extensive damage, sources said. The landslide was apparently triggered by construction of a link road.

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