North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) has successfully synchronized the fourth generating unit of 150 MW (unit-4) of its giant 600 MW Kameng Hydro Power Plant with the grid on January 19, reported PSU Connect. Unit-1, 2, and 3 of 150 MW each has already been commissioned earlier in June, July 2020 and January, 2021 respectively.
The power plant is the largest hydropower plant commissioned in the North East so far. This mega plant will completely change the power scenario of the North East and will also supply reliable and flexible Hydropower for crucial balancing of solar and wind power in the grid. Apart from many North-Eastern states, Haryana, UP, and Nepal are other power purchasers from the plant.
The plant has been constructed in the most challenging geographical part of West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh having an extremely poor geology of young fragile Himalayas. It has two large dams, the farthest being around 78 km from the powerhouse, 14.5 km long Head Race Tunnel, 3.75 km long pressure tunnel and penstock, and four generating units of 150 MW each. The plant has one of the most challenging construction features in the world. It feeds power through a 400 KV double circuit transmission line to the national grid. The plant is designed to generate 3353 million units of clean electrical energy annually.
The construction of the plant posed many unprecedented challenges in the past. However, it picked up huge momentum under the dynamic leadership of Shri V. K. Singh, the present CMD of NEEPCO when he was appointed as Technical Director of NEEPCO in 2016 with his 31 years background of hands-on experience in more than a dozen hydropower plants from NHPC.
