Four people were injured after a fire broke out at the 120 MW Mashkund hydropower project in Odisha’s Koraput district on Friday afternoon, disrupting power generation and damaging equipment worth more than 200 MW. $2 crore, as officials said on Sunday that it may take at least six months for the hydraulic power unit to resume operations.
The fire, which was suspected to have been caused by the explosion of a current transformer (CT) connected to a 2.5 MVA, 11/0.4 kV transformer outside the power station, quickly spread through cable networks and engulfed sections of the old Mashkund hydropower facility under the Lamtaput block.
Officials said that no injuries were reported, while four workers sustained minor injuries and are undergoing treatment.
The fire also affected two turbines and critical operational infrastructure, project authorities said.
“The fire first broke out near the circuit breaker and spread through the cables to the power station. All workers present at the station were safely evacuated and there was no loss of life,” a senior project official said.
Workers at the site said that panic spread throughout the station after a sudden loud explosion was heard from the control room area.
Firefighters from Lamtaput and Nandapur fire stations were deployed after receiving information about the incident. Firefighters battled the flames for more than two hours before the situation was brought under control.
At the time of the fire, all six generating units at the hydroelectric power station were operating. Authorities said the units were immediately and safely shut down to prevent further damage, leading to a complete cessation of electricity generation.
The outage is expected to affect power supplies in neighboring areas, with local reports indicating that about 40 villages may face temporary outages until operations resume.
Officials estimated initial losses of property and equipment at more than $2 crore, although a detailed evaluation is still underway.
The incident has renewed concerns about safety and maintenance at the decades-old hydroelectric power station, where a similar fire incident occurred in 2007. Officials acknowledged that the aging infrastructure requires upgrades and regular inspections.
An official associated with the project said: “The project is old and maintenance is crucial. We are assessing the extent of the damage and efforts are underway to restore power generation as soon as possible.”
The Mashkund Hydropower Project, jointly owned by the governments of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh under a 50:50 arrangement, is operated and managed by the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation (APGENCO). Under the agreement, the two countries share equally the electricity generated as well as maintenance costs.
