NHPC Limited and Nepal’s Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of 480 MW Phukot Karnali hydroelectric project (HEP) in Nepal.
The project will use the flow from the Karnali River for power generation and the generated power will be fed into integrated power system of Nepal. The average annual generation of the project will be about 2,448 GWh. The key features of the project are a 109 m high roller compacted concrete dam and an underground power house where the 6 turbines of 79 MW each will be housed. Additionally, to utilise minimum environmental release one surface power house of 6 MW capacity i.e. two machines of 3 MW each is also planned. This project is conceived as a peaking run-of-river type scheme. Signing of this MoU is a landmark step towards India-Nepal joint vision on power sector cooperation.