Parliament Question: Impact of Climate Change on Hydropower Generation

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3147 ANSWERED ON 06.08.2026 IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON HYDROPOWER GENERATION 3147. PROF. SOUGATA RAY: SHRI KISHORI LAL: Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has assessed the impact of El Niño conditions and long-term climate change on hydropower generation in the country and if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of hydropower generation during the last five years, year-wise, along with the estimated loss in generation, if any, attributed to deficient rainfall, reduced river flows, glacial changes and extreme weather events; (c) whether any major hydropower projects have experienced reduced reservoir storage, lower plant load factor or operational disruptions due to changing rainfall patterns, droughts, flash floods or sedimentation and if so, the details thereof, project-wise ; (d) whether the Government has formulated any long-term strategy to safeguard hydropower generation against the adverse impacts of climate change and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the financial assistance, technological interventions provided during the last five years to States for adaptation, modernization and sustainable operation of hydropower projects affected by climate variability? A N S W E R THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER (SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK) (a) : Ministry of Power (MoP) regularly reviews the status of power supply across the country and has specifically reviewed the likely impact of El Niño in the quarter July, 2026 to September, 2026. Historically, El Niño events have been associated with significant temporal and spatial variations in monsoon rainfall, which can materially influence electricity demand, hydroelectric generation, renewable energy availability and overall power system reliability. It has been assessed that electricity demand during monsoon season is expected to remain elevated owing to factors like sustained economic activity, agricultural irrigation requirements, and weather-related cooling loads.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has projected monsoon rainfall in 2026 at roughly 90% of the long-term average. The impact of El Niño on Hydro reservoir levels is expected to reasonably reduce hydropower generation in India as compared to the previous year. During the period from 1st April 2026 to 30th July 2026, the hydropower generation has been 10.75% less than that for corresponding period of previous year (2025), as given at Annexure-I. (b) & (c): The details of Power Generation from Large Hydro Projects during the last 5 financial years (FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26) and current financial year i.e. FY 2026-27 (till 30 July, 2026) along with year-on-year growth is given at Annexure-II. Due to the flash floods in the Teesta Basin in October 2023, the hydropower stations such as Teesta-III, Teesta-V, Teesta Low Dam (TLD)-III, and TLD-IV suffered major operational disruptions. A comparison of reservoir levels as on 30th July 2026 with the corresponding levels as on 30th July 2025 is given at Annexure-III. It indicates that reservoir levels are generally lower than those of the previous year, with the decline being particularly significant in the Southern Region. The details of comparison of energy content in reservoirs as on 30th July from 2023 to 2026 is given at Annexure-IV. (d) & (e): Government has taken following measures as long-term strategy to safeguard hydropower generation against the adverse impacts of climate change: (i) The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions of Tariff) Regulations, 2024, notified on 15.03.2024, provide that where the saleable scheduled energy of a hydro generating station during a year is lower than the saleable Design Energy due to reasons beyond the control of the generating station, the generator is permitted to recover the corresponding shortfall in Energy Charges from the beneficiaries in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations. Further, where the actual generation from a hydro generating station remains below the Design Energy for a continuous period of four years due to hydrological factors, the generating station is required to approach the Central Electricity Authority with the relevant hydrological data for revision of the Design Energy of the station. (ii) Early Warning System (EWS) consisting of systems for monitoring of various hazards like Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), Landslide Lake Outburst Flood (LLOF), Flash Floods and Seismic activity has been installed at 42 vulnerable Hydro Electric Projects for disaster preparedness and mitigating the effects of natural calamities. Further, a Central Control Room for integration of EWS at various project sites has been developed at NHPC, Faridabad. (iii) Central Electricity Authority has issued guidelines for Slope Stability in Hydro Power Projects on 05.10.2023. These guidelines are applicable to Hydro Power Projects developers in hilly terrains guiding them to take cognizance of past slope failures caused by due to change in geometry of the natural slope, hydrogeological regime, deforestation, and/or weathering effect. (iv) Restoration of Teesta III HEP in Sikkim is being supported through financial assistance (loans) by PFC/REC. **************ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3147 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 06.08.2026 ************* Detail of hydro power generation from 1st April 2026 to 30th July 2026: Generation from Large Duration Hydro Power Plants % Change (MUs) 1st Apr’26 to 30th Jul’26 54,019.42 (-)10.75% 1st Apr’25 to 30th Jul’25 60,522.95 ***************ANNEXURE-II ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (b) & (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3147 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 06.08.2026 ************* The details of Power Generation from Large Hydro Projects during the last 5 financial years (FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26) and current financial year i.e. FY 2026- 27 (till 30 July, 2026): All Generation figures are in Million Units (MUs) Percentage Growth on Generation from Large Year-to-Year basis Financial Year Hydro Projects (*) (in %) 2021-22 1,51,627.33 - 2022-23 1,62,098.77 6.91 2023-24 1,34,053.92 (-)17.3 2024-25 1,48,633.98 10.88 2025-26 1,67,203.78 12.49 2025-26 (upto 30th July’25) 60,522.95 - 2026-27 (upto 30th July ’26) 54,019.42 (-)10.75 Note: (*) Large Hydro refers to hydroelectric power plant with an installed capacity of 25 MW and above ***************ANNEXURE-III ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (b) & (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3147 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 06.08.2026 ************* The details of comparison of reservoir levels as on 30th July 2026 with the corresponding levels as on 30th July 2025: Sl. 30-07-2025 (in 30-07-2026 (in Difference Reservoir Region No. metres) metres) (+/-) 1. BHAKRA Northern 494.08 487.48 (-)6.6 2. PONG Northern 412.73 407.94 (-)4.79 3. RANJIT SAGAR Northern 509.3 509.53 0.23 4. R.P. SAGAR Northern 352.44 347.35 (-)5.09 5. RAM GANGA Northern 341.92 341.14 (-)0.78 6. TEHRI Northern 796 797.03 1.03 7. RIHAND Northern 264.6 257.74 (-)6.86 SARDAR 8. Western 127.92 128.71 0.79 SAROVAR 9. UKAI Western 100.34 96.46 (-)3.88 GANDHI 10. Western 393.91 395.71 1.8 SAGAR 11. INDIRA SAGAR Western 259.96 251.15 (-)8.81 12. BHIRA Western 605.26 605.22 (-)0.04 13. KOYNA Western 654.71 654.59 (-)0.12 14. SRISAILAM Southern 269.08 251.4 (-)17.68 15. ALMATTI Southern 517.95 519.25 1.3 16. KALINDI SUPA Southern 551 536.55 (-)14.45 17. SHARAVATHY Southern 551.99 541.02 (-)10.97 18. IDAMALAYAR Southern 159.04 144.86 (-)14.18 19. IDUKKI Southern 724.03 710.05 (-)13.98 20. SABRIGRI Southern 975.02 955.61 (-)19.41 21. METTUR Southern 240.79 226.68 (-)14.11 22. PERIYAR Southern 41.21 34.15 (-)7.06 NAGARJUN 23. Southern 178.92 156.39 (-)22.53 SAGAR 24. BALIMELA Eastern 446.93 444.15 (-)2.78 25. HIRAKUD Eastern 187.28 188.73 1.45 26. INDRAVATI Eastern 634.05 632.68 (-)1.37 27. MACHKUND Eastern 834.97 828.26 (-)6.71 28. RENGALI Eastern 121.75 122.15 0.4 29. UPPER KOLAB Eastern 852 849.46 (-)2.54 North 30. 767.61 767.4 (-)0.21 LOKTAK Eastern ***************ANNEXURE-IV ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (b) & (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3147 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 06.08.2026 ************* The details of comparison of energy content in reservoirs as on 30th July from 2023 to 2026: Energy content in Reservoirs and Comparison with past years (as on 30-Jul) 2026 vs 2026 vs 2026 vs 2026 vs 2026 vs 2026 vs 2023 2024 2025 2026 2023 2024 2025 2023 2024 2025 Name of State Region [MU] [MU] [MU] [MU] [MU] [MU] [MU] [%] [%] [%] Reservoir [D/A- [D/B- [D/C- A B C D [D-A] [D-B] [D-C] 1]*100 1]*100 1]*100 BHAKRA Himachal NR 1382 762 891 681 -702 -81 -211 -51% -11% -24% PONG Himachal NR 759 244 520 378 -381 134 -142 -50% 55% -27% RANJIT SAGAR Punjab NR 345 22 213 215 -130 193 3 -38% 866% 1% R.P. SAGAR Rajasthan NR 137 89 163 60 -77 -29 -103 -56% -32% -63% RAM GANGA Uttarakhand NR 139 121 117 110 -29 -11 -7 -21% -9% -6% TEHRI Uttarakhand NR 937 3268 599 616 -322 -2653 16 -34% -81% 3% Uttar RIHAND NR 103 95 491 190 87 94 -302 85% 99% -61% Pradesh Total NR 3802 4602 2995 2249 -1553 -2352 -746 -41% -51% -25% SARDAR Gujarat WR 934 371 788 848 -86 477 60 -9% 128% 8% SAROVAR UKAI Gujarat WR 563 432 498 345 -218 -87 -153 -39% -20% -31% Madhya GANDHI SAGAR WR 469 431 355 450 -19 19 95 -4% 5% 27% Pradesh Madhya INDIRA SAGAR WR 769 555 1042 311 -459 -244 -731 -60% -44% -70% Pradesh BHIRA Maharashtra WR 544 615 581 579 35 -36 -2 6% -6% 0% KOYNA Maharashtra WR 2168 2639 2684 2670 502 31 -14 23% 1% -1% Total WR 5448 5043 5949 5203 -245 161 -746 -4% 3% -13% Andhra SRISAILAM SR 402 1282 1314 184 -218 -1098 -1130 -54% -86% -86% Pradesh ALMATTI Karnataka SR 128 69 132 163 35 95 32 27% 138% 24% KALINDI SUPA Karnataka SR 1328 1901 1787 889 -439 -1012 -898 -33% -53% -50% SHARAVATHY Karnataka SR 2022 3739 3787 1402 -620 -2337 -2385 -31% -62% -63% IDAMALAYAR Kerala SR 103 158 183 101 -2 -57 -82 -2% -36% -45% IDUKKI Kerala SR 639 1182 1490 638 -1 -545 -852 0% -46% -57% SABRIGRI Kerala SR 280 373 568 253 -28 -121 -316 -10% -32% -56% KUNDAH GROUP Tamil Nadu SR 522 1080 1465 668 146 -412 -797 28% -38% -54% METTUR Tamil Nadu SR 43 199 204 55 12 -144 -149 27% -73% -73% PERIYAR Tamil Nadu SR 46 83 113 8 -38 -75 -105 -82% -90% -93% NAGARJUN Telangana SR 202 197 1333 180 -22 -16 -1153 -11% -8% -86% SAGAR Total SR 5716 10263 12376 4540 -1176 -5723 -7836 -21% -56% -63% BALIMELA Odisha ER 218 384 213 132 -87 -253 -82 -40% -66% -38% HIRAKUD Odisha ER 80 153 149 200 120 47 51 151% 31% 34% INDRAVATI Odisha ER 139 177 257 219 80 41 -38 58% 23% -15% MACHKUND Odisha ER 81 334 394 164 83 -170 -230 102% -51% -58% RENGALI Odisha ER 9 9 199 205 196 196 6 2140% 2216% 3% UPPER KOLAB Odisha ER 168 299 248 128 -39 -171 -119 -23% -57% -48% Total ER 695 1357 1460 1047 353 -309 -412 51% -23% -28% LOKTAK Manipur NER 39 129 73 57 17 -73 -16 44% -56% -22% Total NER 39 129 73 57 17 -73 -16 44% -56% -22% ALL INDIA 15699 21393 22852 13097 -2602 -8296 -9755 -17% -39% -43% **************