In December 2025, Union Minister Manohar Lal, Ministry of Power (MoP), Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), virtually inaugurated the commercial operation of Unit-2 with capacity of 250 Megawatt (MW) of the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project in Lakhimpur, Assam.
Exam Hints:
- What? Commercial Operation of Unit-2 of 2000 MW Subansiri Hydroelectric Project inaugurated
- Who? Union Minister Manohar Lal, MoP
- Capacity: 2000 MW (8×250 MW)
- Location: Assam-Arunachal border (largest NE dam: 116m high)
- Power Generation: 7,422 million units of clean electricity
- Developer: NHPC Limited
Dignitaries: Some of the dignitaries, including Pankaj Agarwal, Secretary, MoP, and Bhupender Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), under MoP
About Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project:
Overview: The Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project is developed by NHPC on the Subansiri River at Gerukamukh, located on the Arunachal Pradesh–Assam border.
Capacity Expansion: The project has a total capacity of 2,000 MW, encompassing 8×250 MW, with Unit-2 commissioned, three more units to be commissioned, and the remaining four units to be completed in phases during 2026-27.
Power Generation: It is a run-of-the-river scheme with small pondage that generates 7,422 million units of clean electricity annually through 8 Head Race Tunnels (HRTs).
- The generated electricity will be supplied to 16 beneficiary states, with free power allocated to AR and Assam and 1,000 MW reserved for the North-East region.
Dam & Flood Management: The project features a 116-metre (m)-high concrete gravity dam, the largest in North-East India and the first cascaded dam on the Subansiri River, providing flood moderation with a 442 million cubic etre(MCM) flood cushion and a gross reservoir storage of 1,365 MCM.
Engineering & Technology: It incorporates advanced engineering, including India’s heaviest hydro generator rotors, largest stators and inlet valves, high-capacity batching plants, and the first use of Rotec Tower Belt technology for dam concreting in India.
NHPC Investment in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam: NHPC has invested Rs 155 crore under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), covering 3,129 school toilets, Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya at Dollungmukh (AR), safe drinking water at 1,841 locations, and rural infrastructure development.
About Assam:
Chief Minister (CM) – Himanta Biswa Sarma
Governor – Lakhsman Prasad Acharya
Capital – Dispur
Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) – Pobitora WLS, Hollongapar Gibbon WLS
