Ooty | March 14, 2026
A team of journalists from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, currently on an official press tour organised by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), visited the Pykara Hydroelectric Power Station near Ooty in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu on March 13.
During the visit, officials from the power station briefed the visiting journalists on the significance of hydroelectric power projects in Tamil Nadu, particularly in the Nilgiris region, which is known for its extensive network of hydropower facilities.
The journalists were taken to the Pykara Mini Power House, which forms part of the Pykara–Moyar Hydroelectric Scheme under the Generation Circle Kundah. Commissioned on October 8, 1989, the power house has an installed capacity of 2 MW. Officials informed that the generator installed at the facility is manufactured by Meidensha Electric Company of Japan, while the turbine was supplied by Ebara Corporation, Japan.
During the briefing, officials explained that the hydroelectric system in the Nilgiris operates through an integrated network of dams and reservoirs that channel water from the Pykara River to multiple downstream power stations. The cascading system allows water released from one dam to flow into another reservoir, enabling electricity generation at several stages.
This efficient utilisation of water resources contributes to the Nilgiris district’s total installed hydroelectric generation capacity of 837.65 MW.
The visiting journalists were also given access to the Pykara Mini Power House and the nearby Pykara Dam, where they were briefed on the operational mechanisms involved in generating electricity from hydropower.
Officials highlighted that such cascading hydroelectric systems ensure optimal utilisation of water for power generation and contribute significantly to sustainable energy production.
The visit also provided an opportunity for the journalists to compare the hydropower infrastructure in the Nilgiris with that of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. At present, most electricity in the Islands is generated through diesel-based power plants.
The Kalpong Hydroelectric Project, located across the Kalpong River at Nabagram in Diglipur of North and Middle Andaman district, remains the only hydroelectric power project in the Islands. The project, which features a rock-fill and concrete gravity dam, has a storage capacity of 15.27 million cubic metres and a reservoir area of about 1.84 square kilometres.
The concrete section of the dam on the left fork measures 138 metres in length and 34 metres in height, while the rock-fill section on the right fork extends 146 metres with a height of 27 metres. The Kalpong Hydroelectric Project currently has an installed power generation capacity of 5.25 MW.
