Tehri: THDC Starts Second Unit Of 1GW Variable-Speed PSP

THDC India Limited (THDCIL), a Public Sector Undertaking, has recently commenced the second unit, a 250 MW of 1,000 MW Variable Speed Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) at Tehri, Uttarakhand, the company stated in a regulatory filing.  With this, total installed and commercial capacity of THDC India Limited has now become 2,497 MW, it added. The first unit has already been operating successfully since June 2025, and the commencement of the second unit’s COD process after a month reinforces THDCIL’s goal in delivering grid-responsive clean energy infrastructure.

[caption id="attachment_105432" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Tehri PSP Project[/caption]

Ah the event, Pankaj Agarwal (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India, commenced the operation of the second unit via virtual mode in the presence of Akash Tripathy (IAS), Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Power, Mohammad Afzal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power, Gurdeep Singh, Chief Managing Director (CMD), NTPC, R. K. Vishnoi, CMD, THDCIL, Shallinder Singh, Director (Personnel), THDCIL; Bhupender Gupta, Director (Technical), THDCIL; and Sipan Kumar Garg, Director (Finance), THDCIL. 

Tehri PSP is one of the largest Pumped Storage Plants by any Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) and the first Variable Speed PSP in the country. It's designed to provide flexible peaking power and critical grid balancing support. The Tehri Variable Speed PSP represents a significant leap forward in India’s ability to manage intermittent renewable energy. The power electronics and controls, along with the 250 MW variable-speed pumped storage hydropower unit, have been supplied by GE Vernova.

Between a total PSP potential of almost 96 GW and projects being built for close to 10 GW, India is counting on PSPs to play a vital role in managing its renewables push. Excess power supply during solar hours can be diverted towards pumping up water in the daytime, to provide much needed power in the evening peak hours. Building PSPs close to existing Dam infrastructure, as seen in the case of the Tehri dam reservoir, helps make the project more viable by allowing access to existing transmission infrastructure and other advantages like access to water etc.