A generating station which utililises the potential energy of water at high level to produce electrical energy is called Hydro-electric Power Station.

Hydro-electric power stations are built on hilly areas where large dams can be built and could obtain huge water reservoirs.In hydro-electric power station water head is obtained by constructing a dam across water sources or streams like rivers,lakes etc.From the dam water is led to water turbine which converts the energy from falling water ie the hydraulic or potential energy into mechanical energy at the turbine shaft.The turbine drives the alternator which converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy.The importance of Hydro-electric substation is increasing everyday since the fuel reserves such as coal,diesel etc are fastly depleting.In addition to this the water at reservoir could be used for many purposes like irrigation,farming,drinking etc.

Advantages

1. It requires no fuel since water is used for the generation of electricity
2. It is quite neat and clean since no ashes or fumes are produced
3. Running cost is much low since water is free of charge.
4. It is simple in construction and requires less maintenance
5. It does not require much time to put into service
6. It is robust and has longer life
7. It serves many purposes other than power generation like controlling floods,irrigation etc
8. Though it requires many skilled persons during construction ,running do not demands much skilled persons

Disadvantages

1. Requires high capital cost for construction
2. Water is not available at all seasons
3. Skilled and experienced hands are required during construction
4. Cost of transmission is high since it is located in hilly areas

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