ISLAMABAD, Mar. 30 (INP): In a significant achievement, the Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Project (NJHPP) reached its peak generation capacity of 969 MW. This milestone comes after the project resumed full operation earlier this month, following the successful inspection and remedial works in the tail race tunnel (TRT), Gwadar Pro reported on Saturday. Before the resumption, an international panel of experts inspected the TRT and described the rehabilitation work carried out by China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) as “satisfactory”. NJHPP is continuously in operation as per the availability of water and contributing electricity to the National Grid, especially during Sehr and Iftar of the holy month of Ramadan, according to an official statement of WAPDA issued on Friday.

The operation of NJHPP was halted on January 10, 2024 for the inspection of the rehabilitated TRT.  The detailed inspection was successfully carried out prior to the resumption of generation from the project early this month. Neelum Jhelum is a unique hydropower project with 90% being underground under high mountains overburden. The project, completed in 2018 on River Neelum in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, comprises a Dam at Nauseri, an underground waterway system consisting of 52-Km long tunnels and an underground powerhouse at Chattar Kalas with four power generating units of 242.25 MW each. With an average annual energy generation of 4.6 billion units, NJHPP has so far generated 19.562 billion units of green and clean electricity, thus significantly contributing to meeting the electricity requirements of the country, according to WAPDA.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)