Maharashtra: Tata Power, one of India's largest integrated power companies, today celebrated the glorious feat of completing the 100th anniversary of its hydroelectric power plant in Bhivpuri, Maharashtra. The plant, one of the oldest in India, produces around 300MUs of electricity annually and has provided clean energy for over 100 years to the nation. This remarkable achievement also coincides with the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, India@75 and demonstrates Tata Power's efforts to 'Power India and Empower Bharat' for over 100 years.
The company started building the Bhivpuri Powerhouse in 1916. It is situated in the Raigad district of Maharashtra near Mumbai. The project was commissioned in 1922, with an installed capacity of 48MW, which was subsequently upgraded to 75MW, including a 72MW new powerhouse, with three units of 24MW. It also includes a 3MW tailrace powerhouse comprising two units of 1.5MW each. The plant now transmits power over 110kV transmission lines to industries and licensees in the Mumbai metropolis.
Speaking about this milestone, Dr Praveer Sinha, CEO and MD, Tata Power, said, "It's a proud moment for all of us at Tata Power to mark the centenary celebration of Bhivpuri Hydro Power Station. We are committed to providing clean energy through this plant and on this occasion reaffirm our commitment to achieving clean and green energy capacity of 80 percent by 2030, thus contributing towards India's clean energy targets."
The Bhivpuri plant, along with the Khopoli and Bhira plants, is among the first hydroelectric plants in the region that harnesses the major water resources of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra. Today, these three plants make up Mumbai's 'islanding system', the backup power source that kicks in in case the metropolis' power supply gets impacted — akin to an inverter system installed inside households. The clean and cheap power generated at the Bhivpuri Hydro Power Plant has helped curb pollution in Mumbai, one of the world's busiest and most densely populated cities.
The water released from the Bhivpuri plant along with the Khopoli and Bhira hydel plants meets the Ulhas, Patalganga and Kundalika rivers in the Konkan region. This water has enabled rapid industrialisation, urbanisation, irrigation development, commercial trades etc, in the downstream areas of Karjat, Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Badlapur, Mira-Bhayander, Vasai etc.
For the past 100 years, Tata Power has been involved in a variety of economic and community development projects around the Bhivpuri Hydro plant. This includes the establishment of Dhaaga centres to support the livelihood of underprivileged community women, training rural women to produce herbal healthcare products, education excellence schemes for teachers and students to improve their academic performance, and training teachers on biodiversity and environment, water and renewable energy schemes. It has also undertaken initiatives to create employment and run various healthcare programmes to provide primary healthcare to remote villages. These initiatives not only provide growth opportunities to the targeted communities but also empower them.
Plants like the Bhivpuri Hydro Power Station are important contributors to the company's journey to promote clean and green power and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2045.
