Mumbai: The last 24-MW capacity unit of the new Khopoli Hydro Power Station built by Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation in Maharashtra was successfully connected to the grid this week.

With a total output of 72 MW, the new hydro station at Khopoli equals the electricity supply for a city with around 87,000 inhabitants. The station has been built over four years of construction and installation works by Voith Siemens Hydro, a group division of the euro 3.2-billion German engineering giant Voith AG.

The hydro power plant at Khopoli, now owned by Tata Power Company, first came into being in 1911 with six generating units of 12 MW each, which are still partially in operation today. Almost nine decades later, in 1999, Voith Siemens Hydro was awarded the contract to build a new hydro power station next to the old one, to be equipped with three units with an output of 24 MW each.

Of these, two units have already been commissioned — one in March 2001 and the second last year. The scope of supply for Voith Siemens Hydro covered three generators, electrical auxiliaries, automation as well as erection and commissioning.

Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation is one of the leading hydro power equipment manufacturers worldwide and has installed one-third of the world''s hydro power with its turbines and generators. With a workforce of around 2,400 employees and an annual turnover of euro 600 million in the last fiscal year, it is a group division of Voith AG.

Voith AG is setting standards worldwide for paper making technology, power transmission, power plant equipment and industrial services. Founded in 1867, Voith is one of the large family-owned companies in Europe with approximately 24,000 employees, a turnover of euro 3.3 billion and over 180 locations worldwide.