16 hydropower projects await construction in NE

Guwahati: In response to Manipur Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam's query, union minister of state for power Shripad Naik informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday that Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has agreed to a total of 16 hydroelectric projects, with a combined capacity of 14,069 MW, are pending construction in the northeast.

Of these, 14 are in Arunachal Pradesh, while Meghalaya and Nagaland have one each, minister of state for power Shripad Naik informed the Lok Sabha in response to Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam.

The largest among these is the 3,097 MW Etalin hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh, followed by the 2,700 MW Lower Siang project and the 1,750 MW Demwe Lower project.

The controversial 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project, located on the Assam-Arunachal border and subject to long-standing protests, is now expected to be commissioned by May 2026.

Currently, three hydroelectric projects above 25 MW capacity, including the Lower Subansiri dam executed by NHPC, with a total combined capacity of 5,000 MW, are under construction in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

Minister of state for power Shripad Naik said that Arunachal Pradesh's current hydroelectric capacity stands at 1,115 MW from three power projects.

The state generated 4,021.15 million units (MU) of power in 2024-25 (up to Feb 2025), while its energy requirement for the same period was 956 MU.

In Assam, the NTPC Bongaigaon coal-based project has a generation capacity of 750 MW, producing 4,481.53 MU of power in 2024-25 (up to Feb 2025).

The state's gas-based projects have a total capacity of 597.355 MW, generating 3,122.19 MU during the same period.

Additionally, three hydroelectric projects in Assam, with a combined capacity of 350 MW, produced 944.63 MU of power. Overall, Assam's total power generation capacity is 1,697.36 MW, with a total generation of 8,548.35 MU in 2024-25 (up to February 2025). The state's energy requirement for this period was 11,897 MU.

Overall, the northeastern region generated 19,231.37 MU of power in 2024-25, exceeding the total energy requirement of 19,004 MU, with a total installed power generation capacity of 4,477.96 MW.

Guwahati: In response to Manipur Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam's query, union minister of state for power Shripad Naik informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday that Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has agreed to a total of 16 hydroelectric projects, with a combined capacity of 14,069 MW, are pending construction in the northeast.

Of these, 14 are in Arunachal Pradesh, while Meghalaya and Nagaland have one each, minister of state for power Shripad Naik informed the Lok Sabha in response to Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam.

The largest among these is the 3,097 MW Etalin hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh, followed by the 2,700 MW Lower Siang project and the 1,750 MW Demwe Lower project.

The controversial 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project, located on the Assam-Arunachal border and subject to long-standing protests, is now expected to be commissioned by May 2026.

Currently, three hydroelectric projects above 25 MW capacity, including the Lower Subansiri dam executed by NHPC, with a total combined capacity of 5,000 MW, are under construction in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

Minister of state for power Shripad Naik said that Arunachal Pradesh's current hydroelectric capacity stands at 1,115 MW from three power projects.

The state generated 4,021.15 million units (MU) of power in 2024-25 (up to Feb 2025), while its energy requirement for the same period was 956 MU.

In Assam, the NTPC Bongaigaon coal-based project has a generation capacity of 750 MW, producing 4,481.53 MU of power in 2024-25 (up to Feb 2025).

The state's gas-based projects have a total capacity of 597.355 MW, generating 3,122.19 MU during the same period.

Additionally, three hydroelectric projects in Assam, with a combined capacity of 350 MW, produced 944.63 MU of power. Overall, Assam's total power generation capacity is 1,697.36 MW, with a total generation of 8,548.35 MU in 2024-25 (up to February 2025). The state's energy requirement for this period was 11,897 MU.

Overall, the northeastern region generated 19,231.37 MU of power in 2024-25, exceeding the total energy requirement of 19,004 MU, with a total installed power generation capacity of 4,477.96 MW.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) concurred with sixteen hydroelectric projects with a combined capacity of 14,069 MW in the northeastern region, which are pending construction, as informed by the Centre in Lok Sabha on Thursday. Fourteen of these projects are situated in Arunachal Pradesh, while one each is located in Meghalaya and Nagaland, stated Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik's response to Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam from Manipur.

The Etalin hydroelectric project, a central sector scheme in Arunachal Pradesh, will have an installed capacity of 3,097 MW. The Lower Siang hydroelectric project, a private sector scheme with an installed capacity of 2,700 MW, is the second largest among these, followed by the Demwe Lower project, another private sector project with an installed capacity of 1,750 MW. All three projects are in Arunachal Pradesh.

The controversial 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project, situated in the sensitive Assam-Arunachal border region, against which a series of protests were launched more than a decade ago, is now expected to be finished or likely to be commissioned in May 2026. Presently, three hydroelectric projects (above 25 MW capacity), including the Lower Subansiri dam executed by NHPC, with a total capacity of 5,000 MW, are under construction in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The other two under-construction hydroelectric projects (above 25 MW capacity) are the 2,880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Project executed by NHPC in Arunachal Pradesh and the 120 MW Lower Kopili hydroelectric project executed by APGCL in Assam. While the Dibang Multipurpose Project under construction in Arunachal's Lower Dibang Valley is expected to be finished in February 2032, the Lower Kopili projects under construction in the Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong districts are expected to be finished or commissioned in September 2025.

Naik replied that with hydro as the fuel, Arunachal's current capacity from three power projects, all hydro, is 1,115 MW, and the frontier state's power generation for 2024-25 (up to February 2025) was 4,021.15 Million Units (MU), whereas the frontier state's energy requirement (from April 2024 to February 2025) was 956 MU.

In Assam, the power generation capacity from coal from NTPC's Bongaigaon project is 750 MW, and it generated 4,481.53 MU power in 2024-25 (up to February 2025). The total capacity of Assam's gas-based projects is 597.355 MW, and 3,122.19 MU power was generated by these gas-based projects during the corresponding period.

Three hydroelectric power projects in Assam have a capacity of 350 MW, and from these, 944.63 MU power was generated during the aforementioned period. Altogether, Assam has a power generation capacity of 1,697.36 MW, and 8,548.35 MU power was generated in 2024-25 (till February 2025). The state's energy requirement during this period was 11,897 MU.

Manipur's total capacity is 141 MW, from which 687.4 MU power was generated in 2024-25 (till February 2025) against the state's energy requirement of 978 MU during the corresponding period. While the total capacity of Meghalaya and Mizoram has been 322 MW and 60 MW, the power generation achieved in 2024-25 (up to February 2025) was 874.71 MU and 235.93 MU, respectively. On the other hand, Meghalaya and Mizoram's energy requirements between April 2024 and February 2025 were 1,874 MU and 647 MU, respectively.

While in Nagaland, against the power generation capacity of 75 MW, the power generation in the last year was 212.54 MU (against the state's energy requirement of 865 MU), in Tripura, all power generation projects are gas-based with a total capacity of 1,067.6 MW, and from these, 4,651.29 MU power was generated in 2024-25 (till February 2025). Tripura's energy requirement during the corresponding period was 1,779 MU.

The northeastern region generated 19,231.37 MU power since last year (against a total energy requirement of 19,004 MU) with a total power generation capacity of 4,477.96 MW.