Kopili Hydro Electric Project
Kopili Hydro Electric Project is a, hydroelectric power project on the Kopili river and its tributary, Umrong stream. It is located in Dima Hasao district of Assam state in India. 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, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura 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 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 a diameter, 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 a long water conductor system, which was provisioned for at the time of stage-I construction. Third turbine was commissioned on 26 July 2004.