Kopili Hydro Electric Project is a , hydroelectric power project on the

Kopili river Kopili River is an interstate river in Northeast India that flows through the states of Meghalaya and Assam and is the largest south bank tributary of the Brahmaputra in Assam. Course The Kopili originates in the Meghalaya plateau and flows ...

and its

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

, Umrong stream. It is located in

Dima Hasao district Dima Hasao district (), earlier called North Cachar Hills district, is an administrative district in the state of Assam, India. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Assam. Dima Hasao district is one of the two autonomous hill distr ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

state in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The project is developed and operated by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited. It is an important project since the indian State of Assam,

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

and

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

benefit from this project.

Overview

The Khandong dam impounds Kopili river and Umrong dam impounds Umrong river creating Kopili reservoir and Umrong reservoir. Kopili reservoir partially falls in Meghalaya state as Kopili river forms geographical boundary between Assam and Meghalaya in this region. Water from Kopili reservoir is fed to Khandong power station, releasing water into Umrong reservoir. Water from Umrong reservoir is diverted via tunnels to Kopili power station on the bank of Kopili river. Tail race waters of Kopili power house are released back into the Kopili river. Although this project is not classified as such, its design is very similar to

run-of-the-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...

power projects.

Power plants

Khandong I & II

The Khandong power house stage-I and stage-II are located between two reservoirs, near Umrong reservoir, in geographical location and Khandong dam is located at . Khandong Stage-I powerhouse has 2x25 MW Francis type turbines, generating 50 MW power at peak. It is connected to Kopili reservoir via 4.5 m diameter, 2852 m long concrete-lined head race tunnel. First and second units of stage-I were commissioned on 8 March and 3 May 1984 respectively. Khandong stage II powerhouse is located close to stage-I power station. It has 1x25 MW turbine, connected via 480-m-long water conductor system, which was provisioned for at the time of stage-I construction. Third turbine was commissioned on 26 July 2004.

Kopili I & II

The Kopili power house stage-I and stage-II are located on the right bank of Kopili river in geographical location . The related Umrong dam, completed in 1988, is located at . Khandong Stage-I and II powerhouse is installed with 4x50 MW Francis type turbines, generating 200 MW power at peak. It is connected to Umrong reservoir via 4.6 m diameter, 5.5-km-long concrete-lined head race tunnel. The first unit of stage-I was commissioned on 4 July 1988.

Lower Kopili HEP

Because of contamination of Kopili river waters, the prospect of Lower Kopili Hydro Electric Project downstream of Kopili powerhouse has met with hurdles for environmental clearances and financial funding of the project. The 120 MW power project will be funded by the Asian Development Bank.

Environment issue

This hydroelectric project has suffered some serious damage due to contamination of Kopili river with acid mine discharge from open cast coal mines and rat hole mining in Meghalaya.

Incidents

2019

The Hydro project site was submerged and flooded following a pipeline burst on 7 October 2019. 4 people has since been reported missing in the overflowing project site. The burst happened on an old pipe, which was repaired the previous year.

2022

Incident at Khandong Power Plant claimed lives of three persons.

Interactive map

References

External links

North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited - Kopili Hydro Electric Project
{{Hydrography of North-east India Dams in Assam Hydroelectric power stations in India Dima Hasao district 1984 establishments in Assam 1988 establishments in Assam