Power generation at Neelum-Jhelum project to be doubled in 10 days

LAHORE: In what can be termed a significant development, the second unit of Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project has also started generating electricity Tuesday to its maximum capacity of 242.25 MW, which is now being transmitted to the national grid.

According to a Wapda spokesman, as per contractual requirement, this unit will be initially on a three-day and thereafter on a 30-day reliability period and will continuously generate power to its maximum capacity for the system.

Earlier, this unit (Unit No 4) was put into operation during April, injected more than 1.3 million units of electricity during test run. However, during the tests of this unit, some minor technical issues emerged, which have now been rectified by the contractor.

The first unit, which was put on a 30-day reliability period on May 18, has successfully completed the tests. During this period, the unit continuously provided electricity to its maximum capacity i.e. 242.25 MW to the national grid, injecting more than 200 million units of electricity to the system in its reliability period.

Subsequent to the completion of reliability test, the first unit will now be shut down for making minor adjustments before taking over this unit by Wapda. The process, which is a contractual obligation, may take about 10 days to complete. Thereafter, the contribution of Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower (i.e. from both the first and the second units) to the national grid will be doubled from 242.25 MW to 484.50 MW.

It is important to note that contrary to the media reports, the generating units of Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project are being completed according to the timelines and are passing through the required tests in accordance with the contractual obligations. The Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project has a cumulative generation capacity of 969 MW through its four units, with each of them having a capacity of 242.25 MW.