Bhira Hydroelectric Project is the third hydropower plant installed by The Tata Power Company Ltd. (TPCL) in 1927. Bhira is a small village located about 150 km from Mumbai, in Maharashtra. The Bhira power station with 6 x 25 MW (150 MW) generating units (double overhang Pelton turbines) is a vital link in sustaining the industrial activity of Mumbai-Pune region of Maharashtra state.

Realizing the importance of peaking assistance to the grid, Tata Power commissioned a 165 MW Pumped Storage Unit in Jojobera in 1996 as an extension to the existing Bhira hydro power station. The Bhira Pumped Storage Unit is the single largest such unit in India and is perhaps the only pumped storage unit operating in both pumping and generation mode in India at the time of its commissioning.

Milestones

• 1921-1926 - Construction of Mulshi Dam
• 1927 – Hydro-electric power generation with 5 X 18 MW units (90 MW)
• 1945 – Construction of auto gates instead of spillway in dam and dam capacity increased to 522.76 MCM
• 1952 – Sixth unit of 22 MW added. (Set no.1)
• 1955-1957 - Set no. 2 to 6 upgraded to 22 MW by rewinding the generators
• 1974-1977 - Set No. 2 to 6 capacity raised to 25 MW by replacement of runners
• 1997 - A 150 MW Pumped Storage Unit installed.
• 2008 - ‘Silver Shield’ Awarded by the Central Electricity Authority Mumbai
• 2014 - Two 10 kW micro-turbine units in the Tailrace of 6x25MW Old Power House added