Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project Dam on the Chenab river

SRINAGAR: Operations were suspended at the 450MW stage 1 Baglihar hydropower project on the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir after it got flooded two days ago.As water entered the project’s machine room, engineers immediately halted power generation to prevent damage to critical electro-mechanical components. The project, located in Ramban district, is a major contributor to the region’s power supply. As the project’s stage 1 remains suspended, stage 2 which adds another 450 MW capacity, will be operational. It has not been impacted by the flooding, officials said.A senior official called it minor flooding which happened during scheduled maintenance. Stage 1 was anyway scheduled to remain closed for three months for repair works, the official said. “Since stage 1 has to stay shut for 90 days, we will operate stage 2 during the period,” he said.The official said stage 1 typically runs at full load for seven to eight months and at partial load for three to four months annually. Stage 2, however, operates only for about four months, from July to Sept, as per design, as there is not enough discharge to run both stages simultaneously during lean period. “Now that stage 1 is shut down for repairs, we will run stage 2, which otherwise remains closed during the lean period,” he said.