BBMB to become more Powerful, Himachal supported
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ December 3,2025
Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) is going to add another feather in its cap under the command to its incumbent Chairman Manoj Tripathi. The board has proposed a 1,500 megawatt (MW) pumped storage project as an extension of Bhakra Dam at Raipur/ Dober Uparla in Una district of Himachal Pradesh, 5 km upstream from the existing dam site.
Keeping rising power demand in India, the power ministry has asked the hydro power generating units to explore the “Pumped Storage Project (PSP)” in their respective organistions as together with battery energy storage systems (BESS), pumped storage is set to play a key role in balancing India’s power grid amid increasing integration of variable renewable capacities like solar and wind.
If cleared, BBMB’s PSP will become the second project in North India after Tehri in Uttrakhand to implement this. THDC is already start generating 500 MW
Taking keen interest in implementing the power ministry’s proposal, Chairman BBMB, Manoj Tripathi is going to submit a proposal for generating 1500 MW PSP project with an estimated cost of Rs 6,500-crore to be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode on build-own-operate basis at Raipur/ Dober Uparla in Una district of Himachal Pradesh, 5 km upstream from the existing dam site. The BBMB has already conducted surveys and identified four such sites over the dam reservoir having a capacity to generate additional 4403 MW of power at Deber in Distt (1500 MW),Una Lehri Distt Bilaspur (841 MW), Majra Distt Hamirpur (662 MW) and Chhakmoh Distt Hamirpur (1400 MW). At present, the generating capacity of Bhakra Dam is 1,415 MW.
The board has future plan to add additional 8700 MW power at Pong Dam. The board has already selected Kangra districts Garial (2800 MW), Balwal (2500), Chaplah (900) and Dodrah (2500).
Board’s superintending engineer Harjot Singh Walia said “ the Dober PSP is at its initial stage. The survey, site selection is done. The feasibility study at Bhakra Dam has been got conducted from WAPCOS and Raipur/ Dober is considered to be most promising site. Now a consultant would be hired for preparing a detailed project report (DPR) related to the Dobar village project only for which the tenders would be shortly floated”. He added “the Himachal Pradesh government has given green signal to start the project after the Chairman pursued the case with the Himachal government. The matter regarding formal allotment of project in favor of BBMB is being vigorously pursued by the BBMB management with HP Govt as the total Construction period is 4 ½ years (excluding 1 year of pre-construction).” He further added that “the BBMB has yet to decide on the percentage, ratio of additional power generated to be distributed amongst partner states, central pool.”
The project’s extension is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement at the UN Climate Summit COP 26 in Glasgow on November 1, 2021, that India would achieve net zero emission by 2070. The Union government, during COP-27 held in November 2022, had committed to achieving the 50% of the energy requirement from renewable energy along with 500GW non-fossil energy capacity by 2030.
About pumped storage project
BBMB, executive engineer Manish, who is associated with this prestigious project said “Pumped storage hydropower is a form of clean energy, often referred to as a “water battery” as it stores surplus energy during periods of low demand and releases it when demand peaks. During off-peak hours, water is pumped from a lower reservoir to an upper one when the electricity tariff is low. When demand and tariff rates rise, the stored water is released back to the lower reservoir, driving turbines to generate power”.
He further added that “Pumped storage facilities have a high potential to meet the challenge of increasing Energy consumption and is available at short notice. The energy storage capacity of a pumped hydro facility depends on the size of its two reservoirs, while its power output is determined by the capacity of the turbines”.
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