OREANDA-NEWS. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) has successfully commissioned all the four units of NTPC's 4x200 MW Koldam Hydro Electric Project (HEP) in Himachal Pradesh. Significantly, all the four units of the project have been commissioned by BHEL within a short span of just 75 days, commencing with the commissioning of the first unit on 30th March, 2015.

With the commissioning of these units by BHEL, NTPC has made its maiden entry in the hydro sector. Located at the embankment on River Sutlej in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, the surface power house is the first hydro project of NTPC. The power house comprises four Francis Turbines of 200 MW rating each, operating under a head of 131.2 metres. Besides supply and installation of these Francis Turbines, BHEL's scope included supply and installation of matching synchronous Generators, Static Excitation System, Main Inlet Valves, Digital Governors, state-of-the-art Control & Monitoring System (SCADA), associated station auxiliaries and Electrical & Mechanical Balance of Plant (BoP) equipment.

BHEL has a long standing association with NTPC. In the field of Hydro projects, BHEL has the distinction of executing all the four hydro projects of NTPC. Apart from Koldam, the other three hydro projects of NTPC being executed by BHEL are Tapovan Vishnugad HEP (4x130 MW), Lata Tapovan HEP (3x57 MW) and Rammam Stage-III HEP (3x40 MW). Koldam HEP is capable of generating approximately 3,054 GWH annually (90% dependable year). The generation from Koldam HEP will result in reduction of the green-house gas emissions and will help in achieving a low carbon development path for the state as well as the nation. The project has been designed as a run-of-the-river scheme.