No plan to decommission NHPC power stations in NE: MoS
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, March 27 2025: National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) currently operates three hydroelectric power stations in the North Eastern region with a combined installed capacity of 675 MW, generating 16,935 Million Units (MU) of electricity over the past five years and it has no plan to decommission any of the operating power stations.

According to information provided by the Union MoS for Power Sripad Naik in response to an un-starred question raised by Inner Manipur MP Dr Angomcha Bimol Akoijam in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, the power stations include Loktak power station in Manipur, and Rangit and Teesta-V in Sikkim.

The Loktak power station in Manipur has an installed capacity of 105 MW and generated 367 MU in 2019-20, 622 MU in 2020-21, 401 MU in 2021-22, 478 MU in 2022-23, and 298 MU in 2023-24. The Rangit power station in Sikkim, with a 60 MW capacity, generated 355 MU in 2019-20, 289 MU in 2020-21, 338 MU in 2021-22, 332 MU in 2022-23, and 298 MU in 2023-24 whereas Teesta-V power station also in Sikkim, which is the largest of the three, has a capacity of 510 MW and generated 2,832 MU in 2019-20, 2,830 MU in 2020-21, 2,671 MU in 2021-22, 2,858 MU in 2022-23, and 1,966 MU in 2023-24 .

The minister clarified that there are no plans to decommission any of the NHPC power stations in the North Eastern region.

The power stations currently employ 1,102 contract labourers in various capacities, contributing to both direct and indirect local employment.

NHPC is also undertaking extensive expansion and modernisation plans in the region.

Four hydroelectric or multipurpose projects with a combined capacity of 5,500 MW are currently under construction, two each in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Additionally, five new hydroelectric or multipurpose projects with a combined capacity of 17,745 MW are proposed to be developed in the region, which include four in Arunachal Pradesh and one in Sikkim.

As part of its modernisation effort, NHPC has initiated the Renovation & Modernisation (R&M) of the Loktak power station, which was commissioned in 1983.The station completed its scheduled life of 35 years in May 2018, necessitating these upgrades to ensure continued operational efficiency.

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