Sikkim flash flood | Power ministry investigating early warning system at Teesta Urja hydropower project: RK Singh

Sikkim flash floods

Two weeks after a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in North Sikkim washed away the Chungthang dam of the 1,200 MW Teesta Stage-III hydropower plant, Union Minister for Power RK Singh said on October 18 that his ministry is looking into the early warning system of the hydropower project concerned.

Moneycontrol on October 12 reported that the government's plan to install early warning systems in vulnerable hydro projects remains incomplete despite it roping in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in December 2022.

"We had put in place early warning mechanisms for hydropower projects so that one knows when there is an upcoming flood and they can open the gates accordingly. In the case of the Chungthang dam, either an early warning system was not installed at all or it was not functional at the time of the incident. We are looking into this," the minister said on the sidelines of an event organised by the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The Teesta Stage-III plant is commonly known as the Teesta Urja project.

Calling the GLOF calamity a "freak incident", Singh said the Indian government is not ready to write off hydropower projects as yet. Explaining why, he said that, unlike renewable energy (RE) sources such as wind and solar, hydropower is more reliable as it can be ramped up and ramped down quicker than RE sources.

"Hydropower projects are essential because the sun and wind are both intermittent, even as we are operating large volumes of both. Hydroprojects have a role to play in balancing the grid as they can be ramped up and down quickly. Apart from this freak incident, by and large, hydropower projects have stood the test of time. We have hydro projects in India which are functioning since the 1960s-70s. So, we are not writing off hydro power as yet," he said.

At least three hydropower projects totalling 2,210 MW were damaged in the Sikkim flash floods which occurred due to the outburst of the Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, the death toll of which has now risen to 40, while 76 people are still missing.

The worst affected of the three is the 1,200 MW Teesta Stage-III hydro power plant which was the biggest operational hydropower station in Sikkim. It is operated by Sikkim Urja Limited, a majority stake of which is of the state government.

NHPC Ltd, India's largest hydropower public sector undertaking (PSU), has shut its 510 MW Teesta-V hydel plant due to the flash floods in Sikkim. It has estimated losses and damage to the tune of Rs 788 crore, of which material damage is Rs 297 crore and business loss is Rs 491 crore.

The government continues to push for hydroelectric projects as they are a clean source of electricity compared to coal-fired power plants. In fact, the government intends to increase the overall share of hydroelectric projects to meet its target of having an installed renewable energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030.