Neelum-Jhelum Hydel Power Station Undergoes Scheduled Maintenance
Karobar
LAHORE: During the present low-flow season, the 969MW Neelum-Jhelum Hydel Power Station will halt energy generating on January 10 in order to inspect its 3.5-km tailrace tunnel.
The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) believes that the low river water flows are perfect for inspecting hydel power plants.
In January, the Neelum-Jhelum power plant produces 90MW on average. Thus, the national grid's 90MWhdl share will not be affected by the maintenance closure.
According to official source, "the power plant has contributed 1.1 billion low-cost and environmentally friendly electricity units to the national grid since the resumption of its power generation in August after the restoration of its tailrace tunnel."
All four units have been in continuous operation since August. Additionally, they will cease producing on January 10 in order to evaluate the tailrace tunnel, the spokesman said.
Following the rehabilitation of its tailrace tunnel, the project recommenced generating in the second week of August 2023, following over a year of inactivity. The project's plan is to reroute the Neelum River from Nauseri village via a network of 51.7 km of subterranean tunnels, 48.2 km of headrace tunnels and 3.5 km of tailrace tunnels, ending close to Zaminabad village in the Jhelum River.
It began generating after its first unit was commissioned in April 2018 and consists of four units with a combined capacity of 242.25MW. When all four units were put into service in August of that year, the project's installed generation reached its maximum. However, the power generation stopped in July 2023 due to a blockage caused by the collapse of a part of its tailrace tunnel.
Water Levels
In the meantime, the Terbela reservoir's current water level was measured on Friday at 1,478.91 feet, with a live storage capacity of 2.212 million acre-feet (MAF). In a similar vein, Mangla Dam's water level was measured at 1,156.50 feet, with a live storage capacity of 2.048 MAF.
The current level at Chashma is 639.90 feet, with a live storage capacity of 0.023 MAF. "A press release from Wapda on Friday stated that the inflows and outflows of the River Jhelum at Mangla, Jinnah, and Chashma, as well as the River Indus at Tarbela, have been reflected as mean flows of 24 hours, while the other flows have been gauged at 6.00am."
