ISLAMABAD: The Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project has been shut down after major cracks appear in its tailrace tunnel.
The closure of 969MW hydropower project means more loadshedding in the country.
The 54km long tunnel, which is used to bring water to the power station, “has been blocked and as a result the power station has been closed for safety reasons,” according to Water and Power Development Authority.
Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastagir Khan confirmed this during a press conference on Wednesday.
“Neelum Jhelum Power Plant has been shut down due to some technical fault and its cause was being determined. All out efforts would be made to remove the faults as soon as possible,” APP quoted the minister as saying.
Neelum Jhelum project was completed during the during the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government and was inaugurated in April 2018 by the then prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Completed at cost of around $5 billion, the project comprises four units with generation capacity of 242.25MW, each.
The overall electricity shortfall in the country has reached 6,819MW, causing as much as 12hours of loadshedding in many cities across the country.
Total power generation stands at 21,181MW while the demand for the electricity is around 28,000MW.
5,700MW is being generated from hydro projects while government owned thermal plants are producing 1,680MW.
Private power producers are providing 11,000MW of electricity. Power generation from renewable energy projects including wind and solar stands at 364MW and 63MW, respectively.
Nuclear-powered plants are producing 2,271MW of electricity.
