The State Government on Tuesday decided to renovate the hydropower projects with an investment of around Rs 888 crore.
A meeting headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday decided to renovate two units of Hirakud with an investment of Rs 158 crore to increase the power capacity from the present 75 MW (2X37.5 MW) to 86 MW (2X43 MW) (2), one unit of Chipilima with Rs 65.76 crore and six units of Balimela hydropower projects 664 crore, respectively.
Work order for the two units of Hirakud power projects, which were built during 1960s, has already been granted as the units need to be renovated to increase the power generation.
The renovation process would be completed in two and half a year, said Energy Secretary Suresh Mohapatra.
Sources said the lifespan of a hydro electric project is 30 years.
With the renovation process, the Balimela hydro electric project would be able to generate more 150 million units of power against the present capacity of 1,150 million units, said the official. Notably, the Government had decided to renovate the three hydropower projects in 2013.