The Nathpa Jhakri power project, known to be India’s biggest hydro project is owned and operated by Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL) and Karcham Wangtoo project, by Jaypee Karcham Hydro Corpration.
Silt level in the river currently stands at 6,000 parts per million, which is much above the permissible limit, an SJVNL official was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
Presence of high levels of silt can cause damage to the projects, forcing the officials to shut them down until the levels recede.
Jaypee Group project general manager SK Uppal is quoted to have said that only one turbine of 250 MW was working, and the other three had been shut.
SJVNL is a joint venture between the Government of India and the State Government of Himachal Pradesh generating about 38 million units of power per day.
The country has had a major power crisis in the preceding week and the shutting down of the power stations supplying electricity to the states of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh amongst others could potentially trigger another crippling crisis.
