It seems that there will be no immediate respite for the public from the hours-long load-shedding of electricity as a major hydropower plant has been shut down due to a technical fault.
Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has confirmed that 969 MW of electricity has been removed from the national grid as operations at the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Station (NJHS) have been suspended to a technical issue.
According to details, the “tailrace tunnel” of NJHS has been blocked and the plant has been closed for safety reasons. The tailrace tunnel is a channel through which water flows away from the plant after rotating the turbine blades.
The reasons behind the blockage of the tailrace tunnel are being determined. The process to remove the blockage will start once the reasons behind it are ascertained by the authorities.
NJHS is located near Muzaffarabad with an installed capacity of 969 MW. Its construction started in 2007 and ended in 2018 and it will produce 5,150 GWh per year over the next three decades.
On a few occasions after its integration with the national grid, NJHS has managed to reach 1040 MWs production, which is more than its installed capacity and a rare occurrence in the hydel power industry.
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