Neelum-Jhelum: One unit of power project resumes production

The plant was shut down for inspection on Jan 5

LAHORE: Following a contractual inspection, the Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric power project resumed electricity generation according to the schedule on Saturday.

The project, commissioned in April 2018, remained shut from January 5 onwards for inspection of the plant during low water flow in the Neelum River, said a statement issued on Saturday.

The spillway and debris channel gates of the dam were also tested under full operational level of the reservoir and they functioned satisfactorily. The available flow of water in the river is around 60 cubic metres per second, which allows only one unit to operate, utilising live storage of the reservoir. Thus, the Neelum Jhelum powerhouse is generating about 242 megawatts at present.

All four units of the plant require 280 cubic metres of water per second, which will be possible by March and April 2019, resulting in full generation of 969MW. The powerhouse is expected to achieve annual energy production of 4.6 billion units in 2019-20 and will generate a revenue of about Rs50 billion per annum.

Earlier, the first unit of the power project was commissioned in April 2018. Its four units went into operation in a phased manner by August 14, 2018.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2019.

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