The Indian state of West Bengal plans to expand hydropower generation over the next decade.
The move is part of the state government’s efforts to improve power supply efficiency and increase proportion of reliable and sustainable generation capacity.
With this objective, the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) has identified a total potential of 6,300MW hydropower generation in the state including 1500MW from canal falls.
A master plan to identify the residual hydro power potential of the state as well as a preliminary investigation is on to identify the conventional hydro power potential in North Bengal & South Bengal rivers is currently underway.
Also, a preliminary investigation to identify the hydro power potential of the existing irrigation canal system is also being conducted.
Investigative studies will be carried out for several projects in the state including the 84MW Teesta Intermediate Stage and the 81MW Teesta Low Dam I & II Projects in Darjeeling district.
A detailed project report is also being prepared for the 125MW Farakka Barrage project in Murshidabad, the 56MW Rammam Stage- I hydroelectric project in Darjeeling and the 24MW Rammam Ultimate project, also in Darjeeling.
The state’s hydro power capacity stands at 1,078MW, from both conventional hydro and pumped storage facilities.
