The Nathpa Jhakri project, one of India's largest hydropower projects, is located on the river:

The Nathpa Jhakri Hydroelectric Power Station is a 1,500 MW run-of-the-river project on the Sutlej river in the Kinnaur and Shimla districts of Himachal Pradesh.

Key facts:

• It is one of the largest underground hydroelectric power stations in India.
• The concrete gravity dam is at Nathpa in Kinnaur district.
• Water is carried through a headrace tunnel about 27.4 km long, one of the longest in the world for a hydropower project, to the underground power house at Jhakri in Shimla district.
• The project was fully commissioned in 2004.
• It is operated by SJVN Limited (formerly Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam), a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Himachal Pradesh.
• Its output has been increased to about 1,500 MW after improvements.

Run-of-the-river projects:

Such projects use the natural flow of the river with little storage. Water is diverted through tunnels to turbines downstream, taking advantage of the steep drop.

They have smaller reservoirs than storage dams, which reduces submergence, but they can still affect river ecology.

Silt problem:

The Sutlej carries a heavy silt load from the Himalayas, which can damage turbines. The project has large underground desilting chambers to remove sediment.

Other projects on the Sutlej:

• Rampur Hydroelectric Project (412 MW), downstream of Nathpa Jhakri, using the water released from it.
• Karcham Wangtoo (1,000 MW) upstream.
• Kol Dam (800 MW) in Bilaspur district.
• Bhakra Dam, the oldest major dam on the river.
• Luhri project, under construction.

Himachal Pradesh and hydropower:

Himachal Pradesh is often called the "power state" of India because of its huge hydroelectric potential in the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Yamuna basins.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Beas has the Pong, Pandoh and Larji projects.
• ✗The Ravi has the Chamera projects.
• ✗The Chenab has projects such as Salal and Baglihar in Jammu and Kashmir.