On Wednesday, a proposal has been approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to invest an amount of Rs 1,810 crore for 210 MW Luhri Stage-I hydropower project on river Satluj, located in the districts of Shimla and Kullu in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The Luhri Stage-I hydro electric project will generate 758.20 million units of electricity annually, according to a PTI report. Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) is implementing the hydro power project on Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM) basis with active support from the centre and the state government.
In November 2019, the MoU of this project was signed with the state government of Himachal Pradesh during ‘Rising Himachal, Global Investor Meet’. The Modi government is supporting the project by providing grants of an amount of Rs 66.19 crore for enabling infrastructure which has helped in power tariff reduction. The project is likely to be commissioned within a period of 62 months. The power generated from the Luhri Stage-I hydro electric project will improve the power supply position and help in providing grid stability.
Other than adding valuable renewable energy to the grid, the Luhri Stage-I hydro electric project would also lead to better air quality by reducing 6.1 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from the environment. The project’s construction activities will result in direct and indirect job opportunities for around 2,000 people as well as contribute to the state’s overall socio-economic development.
Moreover, during the project’s life cycle of 40 years, the state of Himachal Pradesh will benefit with free power worth approximately Rs 1,140 crore from the project. The families affected by the project will be provided with 100 units of free electricity per month for a period of ten years. According to the report, the SJVNL has forayed into the fields of renewable energy, thermal power generation and power transmission. Internal growth targets of the total installed capacity of 5,000 MW by the year 2023, 12,000 MW by the year 2030 and 25,000 MW by the year 2040, has been envisaged by the company from all sources, the report added.