Bhubaneswar: The State-run Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC) on Friday signed an MoU with Central enterprise Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) Limited for project management for the upper Indravati pumped storage venture. The agreement was signed here in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Development Commissioner Anu Garg for project management consultancy services for the 600 MW upper Indravati pumped storage project (UIPSP) at Mukhiguda in Kalahandi district.

The detailed project report of the UIPSP has been prepared through WAPCOS. The upper Indravati pumped storage project is an energy storage system that pumps water from the lower to the upper reservoir during surplus power available in the grid, and the same water is released to generate electricity during peak demand, it said. The OHPC is constructing a 600 MW pumped storage project in the vicinity of its existing upper Indravati hydroelectric project.

The collaboration marks a crucial step in advancing Odisha’s energy sector while ensuring efficiency and sustainability, Singh Deo said.

The proposed pumped storage project will have an underground powerhouse located near the lower reservoir, equipped with four vertical-axis reversible-type Francis Hydroelectric units, having a capacity of 150 MW each and will operate in pumping as well as generating mode at different times of a day, he added.