Mumbai: Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation has announced the formal handing over of the three-unit generation plant at the 360 MW Baspa-II Hydropower Station in Himachal Pradesh to Jaiprakash Hydro Power Ltd (JHPL), at a ceremony to mark the signing of the commissioning certificates for the plant.

Baspa-II is the largest private hydropower project in India operated by an IPP (independent power producer), JHPL. The hydro station has recently been connected to the national grid. With a maximum output of 360 MVA, the run-of-the-river plant on an elevation of 1,825 m is expected to reduce the peak load shortage in Himachal Pradesh as well as in the greater New Delhi area.

Voith Siemens Hydro, as consortium leader, was awarded the contract to provide the complete electro-mechanical and control equipment for Baspa-II in January 1999. The award of this project marked the beginning of cooperation between two market leaders in the area of hydropower in India — Jaiprakash Industries, the parent company of JHPL, and Voith Siemens Hydro, a group division of the euro 3.3 billion engineering giant Voith AG.

Recent projects, notably the 900 MW Baglihar Hydro Project near Jammu slated for completion by 2007, and the 520 MW Omkareshwar Hydro Power Project on the Narmada river near Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, show the continued success of this collaboration and also the substantial contribution of Voith Siemens Hydro to the development of hydropower potential in India.

The commissioning of the Baspa generators is another milestone in Voith Siemens Hydro'' intensified activities in India. The company established a local subsidiary in New Delhi just a year ago.

Another of Voith''s group divisions, Voith Turbo, manufactures hydrodynamic drives, couplings and braking systems for road, rail and industrial applications at its manufacturing facility at Hyderabad. Voith Turbo is supplying helical gears and couplers for the prestigious Metro Project in New Delhi.