BHEL commissions 1 more unit of Kaleshwaram irrigation project

New Delhi: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully commissioned one more pumping unit (Unit 5) of 116 MW of the 7×116 MW Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (LIS) Package-6 in Telangana. BHEL had earlier commissioned four units of the same project in April and May 2019. Significantly, the pump for each unit is designed to lift 89.16 cumecs (cubic metres per second) of water by 105.5 metres.

Project being developed by Telangana govt

Being developed by the Irrigation & CAD (I&CAD) Department of the government of Telangana, the greenfield lift irrigation project (formerly known as Pranhita Chevella) is located in Peddapalli district of Telangana. In the project, water shall be lifted from Sripada Yellampalli reservoir to Medaram reservoir and will be used for irrigation and water supply in nearby areas, thereby contributing to the overall development of the area and the state of Telangana.

What is BHEL's role in the project?

BHEL's scope in the project comprises of completing Electrical & Mechanical (E&M) works including design, manufacture, supply and supervision of erection and commissioning of seven sets of Vertical Pump-Motor sets along with associated auxiliaries. The equipment has been supplied from BHEL's manufacturing units at Bhopal, Rudrapur and Bengaluru, while the supervision of erection and commissioning at the site was carried out by the company's power sector southern region division, Chennai.

The backdrop

In Telangana, BHEL has so far commissioned 30 pump-motor sets of various ratings cumulatively aggregating to 1,101 MW. In addition, BHEL is presently executing another 35 pump-motor sets totalling 4,777 MW for various Lift Irrigation Schemes in Telangana, viz. Kaleshwaram LIS Package 6,8,10 and 11 and Palamuru Rangareddy LIS Package 5 and 8.

In addition, to lift irrigation projects, BHEL has made a significant contribution to the hydro sector of Telangana and has commissioned 1,073 MW of hydropower projects in the state so far.

BHEL is presently executing hydro-electric projects of more than 2,900 MW across the country, in addition to 3,544 MW abroad, which includes 2,580 MW in Bhutan and 900 MW in Nepal. Significantly, more than 500 hydro-electric generating sets of various ratings have been ordered on BHEL with a cumulative capacity of more than 30,000 MW, including 6,680 MW for overseas projects. BHEL's hydro plants are successfully performing in India and across the world, including countries such as Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Rwanda, Thailand, New Zealand, Nepal and Vietnam.