KATHMANDU, Sept 24: Nepal is estimated to require Rs 390.62 billion to reconstruct and rehabilitate energy infrastructure damaged by the devastating floods that struck the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river corridor on August 26.
Briefing the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha presented preliminary estimates of the damage caused to the energy sector and the resources required for restoration and reconstruction.
According to Shrestha, the catastrophic flood forced 11 power plants to shut down, disrupting 410 MW of generation capacity. Among them, seven hydropower plants and one solar power plant, with around 275 MW of generation capacity, were directly affected by the flood.
Another three hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 135 MW have remained out of operation despite not sustaining direct physical damage, as their electricity transmission lines were damaged by the flood.
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The disaster has also affected under-construction hydropower projects. Shrestha said six projects with a combined capacity of 508 MW sustained damage from the flood.
The flood caused extensive damage to transmission, distribution and renewable energy infrastructure. The 220 kV Trishuli-3 'B' Hub substation at Trishuli was completely destroyed, while the Matatirtha-Chilime 220 kV hub was disrupted.
The 132 kV Trishuli-3 'B' Hub-Matatirtha and 66 kV Chilime-Matatirtha transmission lines also sustained damage. The Chilime, Upper Trishuli-3 'A' and Devighat switchyards, along with numerous distribution lines and utility poles, were among other major infrastructure affected by the floods.
More than 800 people working on energy-sector projects remain out of contact following the disaster. Shrestha said 47 Nepal Electricity Authority employees are among those currently unaccounted for.
To provide relief to flood-affected electricity consumers, the government has decided to waive minimum electricity billing charges from last month. Customers whose electricity meters were damaged in the floods will also receive replacement meters free of charge when they seek to resume their electricity services.
The government is also studying the possibility of providing additional electricity tariff concessions to consumers in 15 affected municipalities.
Shrestha said the scale of damage demonstrated the need to give greater priority to disaster-risk management while developing hydropower and other energy infrastructure.
He said the Ministry of Energy has directed concerned agencies to incorporate safer and more disaster-resilient designs into future hydropower projects and energy infrastructure to reduce the risk of damage from natural disasters.
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