Store
GS3 · Energy

Tehri: India’s first variable-speed pumped storage plant adds third unit

1 min readEnergyRenewable Energy
Battle IAS current affairs title card: Tehri: India's first variable-speed pumped storage plant adds third unit (GS3 · Energy, 9 December 2025)

What happened

  • THDC India began commercial operation of the third 250 MW unit of the 1,000 MW Tehri Variable Speed Pumped Storage Plant in Uttarakhand on 9 December 2025 [PIB].
  • The Power Minister called it India’s first variable-speed PSP; PIB says it is the largest of its kind by a central PSU [PIB].

Background

  • A pumped storage plant pumps water uphill when power is cheap and generates when demand peaks. Variable speed lets the pump adjust its load, which helps grid balancing.

Why it matters

  • Solar floods the grid at noon and vanishes at night. Pumped storage is the cheapest large-scale way to shift that power.

How to use this in Mains

GS-III Infrastructure: energy, ports, roads, airports, railways; investment models

  1. As per PIB (2025-12-09): THDC India began commercial operation of the third 250 MW unit of the 1,000 MW Tehri Variable Speed Pumped Storage Plant in Uttarakhand on 9 December 2025.
  2. Solar floods the grid at noon and vanishes at night. Pumped storage is the cheapest large-scale way to shift that power.
Quotable data point

THDC India began commercial operation of the third 250 MW unit of the 1,000 MW Tehri Variable Speed Pumped Storage Plant in Uttarakhand on 9 December 2025.

PIB: MoP: Tehri variable speed PSP unit 3, 9 Dec 2025

Exam angle

UPSC

Prelims: pumped storage, Tehri.

Practice MCQs

Original practice questions (not PYQs).

Practice · UPSC

Capacity of the Tehri PSP

Answer (c) & explanation

PIB.

Practice · UPSC

Tehri lies on which river?

Answer (b) & explanation

General knowledge.

Practice · UPSC

Operator

Answer (c) & explanation

PIB.

Go deeper

ExplainerRenewable Energy in India: Potential, Installed Capacity, 500 GW Target, Key Schemes (PM-KUSUM, PM Surya Ghar), Challenges and Way Forward (UPSC Notes + PYQs)ExplainerGreen Hydrogen: Colours of Hydrogen, Electrolysis, National Green Hydrogen Mission, Uses, Costs and Challenges (UPSC Notes + PYQs)

Official source: PIB: MoP: Tehri variable speed PSP unit 3, 9 Dec 2025

facts from cited sources only; faculty review pending