The Power Ministry announced that the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has granted concurrence to two hydro pumped storage plants (PSPs) in record time.

These projects include the 600 MW Upper Indravati in Odisha, being developed by OHPC Ltd (a government undertaking of Odisha), and the 2,000 MW Sharavathy in Karnataka, by KPCL (a unit of the Karnataka government).

According to the statement, the CEA has received numerous proposals for hydro PSPs, totalling around 60 GW, which are currently under survey and investigation for the preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs). Once ready, these DPRs will be uploaded to the CEA website for concurrence under Section 8 of the Electricity Act, 2003.

To expedite the concurrence process in line with the Centre's ease of doing business initiative, the CEA has revised its guidelines, simplifying the DPR preparation and concurrence process for PSPs. Under the revised guidelines, developers can now submit the DPR online after completing the first 13 chapters, with some chapters no longer mandatory.

Approval of cost and financial chapters is no longer mandatory; these chapters are now submitted only for reference and record-keeping to meet legal requirements. Additionally, for closed-loop hydro PSPs, there is no need to submit alternative location plans for reservoirs.