ISLAMABAD – The hydel resource development in Pakistan has taken a giant leap forward as the third and the last unit of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project was also synchronized with the national grid Friday. The third unit was operated on various loads up to 466 MW.
“With synchronization of the third unit, the maximum contribution from Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project to the national grid reached 1307MW,” said spokesman for WAPDA. Had there been ample water level in Tarbela reservoir, the generation from Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project would have been reached to its maximum generation capacity of 1410 MW, said the spokesman.
After conducting the load rejection test at 466 MW, the third unit has now been stopped for technical examination in accordance with the standard operating procedure.
Earlier, the first and the second unit of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project restarted electricity generation on September 8 and 13 respectively after lifting of the draft tube gates by WAPDA engineers by their concerted efforts. Since commissioning, Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project has contributed 632 million units of low-cost electricity to the system during the test run.
Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project has been constructed on Tunnel No. 4 of Tarbela Dam. The Project has three generating units, each of them having capacity of 470MW. The project will provide 3.84 billion units of electricity on the average to the national grid per annum.
Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at Rs 30 billion. The project will pay back its cost in just three years. With completion of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project, the installed capacity of Tarbela Hydel Power Station has increased from 4378 MW to 4888 MW.