In what promises to avert an Uttarakhand-like dam disaster, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited has installed an Internet-based cloud software application for an Early Warning System (EWS) in at least 12 major projects in the country including the 2000-MW Subansiri Lower hydro project in Arunachal Pradesh.
The system has been installed at a time the NHPC is gearing up to inaugurate the first unit of the Subansiri lower project---the biggest hydroelectric project taken up so far in the country. It is a run of river project in the Subansiri river.
The software will enable real time monitoring of water levels, discharge of tributaries and rivers along with close coordination with the project and power station at upstream and downstream of such identified vulnerable projects. It will also issue alerts/warnings to concerned project authorities/stakeholders and local administration to give time to the people to react during floods, enabling local administration and people to evacuate or shelter before a flood, the NHPC said.
After the disaster in a hydro project in Uttarakhand in February 2021, the Central Electricity Authority had identified 47 vulnerable projects across the country. Of these, 10 belong to the NHPC and two to Chenab Valley Power Projects, a joint venture between NHPC and Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation. The NHPC was given the responsibility for setting up a Master Control Room facility for monitoring the functioning of EWS of such vulnerable hydroelectric projects (public sector). "The software has been installed in all 12 projects. Hydroelectric projects belonging to other developers can also take advantage of this software portal," said the NHPC in a statement.
"The software application has been integrated with inputs from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on a real time basis for strengthening the forecasting/alerts," it said. "Hydroelectric projects are usually located in mountainous areas and are vulnerable to disasters like landslides, cloudburst, flood, avalanche and glacial lake outburst floods, '' it further said.
AK Singh, CMD of NHPC inaugurated the EWS on Wednesday.
Stalemate in Subansiri project
Work in the Subansiri Lower hydroelectric project started in 2006 but the work remained stalled between 2011 and 2019 mainly due to strong agitation by organisations and people in the downstream areas in Assam's Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts. Local residents demand that the project be scrapped as it may cause massive devastation in the downstream areas in case of a disaster. The fear grew after the Uttarakhand disaster.