Subansiri Lower and the projects under construction
Subansiri Lower is the largest hydropower station in the company's history. It is a run-of-river project at Gerukamukh on the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh border with eight units of 250 MW each, for a total of 2,000 MW at full capacity. The first four units began commercial operation in quick succession: Unit 2 on 23 December 2025, Unit 3 on 1 February 2026, Unit 1 on 20 March 2026 and Unit 4 on 8 May 2026, giving the station 1,000 MW of working capacity.[4]
The remaining four units, accounting for another 1,000 MW, are still under construction. Unit 5 was being prepared for commissioning when the company reported on progress in October 2026, and electro-mechanical works continued on Units 6, 7 and 8. On 30 September 2026 the 395 tonne stator of Unit 7 was lowered into its pit, a step that allows assembly to begin and moves that unit towards commissioning.[4]
In 2025-26 NHPC added 1,850 MW of capacity, the highest addition in any financial year in its history. The additions were 750 MW from Subansiri Lower, 800 MW from Parbati-II and 300 MW from the Karnisar solar project.[2]
Parbati-II in Himachal Pradesh is an 800 MW station of four 200 MW units. Three units were commissioned first and the fourth completed the project on 16 April 2025, ending a construction story that had run for years in the Parbati valley.[1] [6]
The forward pipeline is large by the standards of any Indian generator. NHPC says it has 17 projects totalling 9,204 MW under construction, a further 9 projects of 10,263 MW at the clearance stage and 9 projects of 9,830 MW in survey and investigation. For 2026-27 it set a capital expenditure target of 15,000 crore rupees, with about 8 GW of hydro under construction and over 10 GW awaiting clearances.[2] [3]
The Jammu and Kashmir pipeline is the most advanced of the state level programmes. The 540 MW Kwar project was sanctioned with 4,526.12 crore rupees in April 2022, the Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation holds the 850 MW Ratle project as a joint venture with the state, and Chenab Valley Power Projects, another joint venture, has about 1,230 MW under development in the Kishtwar district.[1] [9]
In Arunachal Pradesh the company signed a memorandum of agreement with the state government in August 2026 to develop the 3,097 MW Etalin project, after the state approved the allotment of two projects to NHPC in 2023. Between Subansiri Lower, Dibang and Etalin, Arunachal Pradesh has become the centre of the company's growth plans for the next decade.[1] [3] [11]
