KATHMANDU, Sept 29: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has projected that the country will be importing up to 1,154 MW of electricity from India for the supply management of power during upcoming winter, amid an extensive damages that the hydropower plants sustained due to recent floods, landslides and rainwater.
Unveiling its work plan for the dry period from January through May 2027 on Monday, the NEA has estimated the electricity import. According to the NEA, total electricity production stands at 3,739.40 MW at present.
By mid-December, additional 320.60 MW will be generated from projects now in the pipeline. This will take the total production to 4,060 MW within the stipulated time period.
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However, with only 30 percent of the total installed capacity will be materialized during the dry season, as river water flow decreases, the available electricity for domestic consumption will remain at 1,218 MW. According to the NEA, the average national peak demand, on the other hand, will remain at 2,292 MW, similar to that of last year.
Of the shortfall amount of around 1,154.80 MW of electricity, the NEA has planned to import it from the southern neighbor. Under this plan, the targets include importing 600.80 MW through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line, 54 MW via the Tanakpur-Mahendranagar line, 350 MW through lines connecting Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and 150 MW on a bilateral basis between January and May 2027.
By combining domestic production and imports, a total of 2,372.77 MW of electricity will be made available in the system during the dry season; the NEA estimates that this volume will help meet the projected demand for the period.
India has agreed to allow Nepal to import 600.80 MW of electricity via the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line during "solar hours" (from midnight to 6 PM) until the end of December this year. According to the NEA, it will lobby India for electricity imports beyond this period to manage supply.
Meanwhile, the NEA through its preliminary study has estimated that the catastrophic Bhotekoshi-Trishuli flood sustained a loss of around Rs 74 billion due to damages to power plants run under the NEA and its subsidiaries.
The completely halted projects due to floods include the 111 MW Rasuwagadhi, 78 MW Sanjen, 60 MW Upper Trishuli 3A, 42.5 MW Lower Sanjen, 25 MW NEA Solar, 24 MW Trishuli, and 22.1 MW Chilime hydropower projects.
Similarly, electricity generation has completely stopped at the 20 MW Langtang, 14.8 MW Upper Sanjen, 14.3 MW Upper Mailung, 14.1 MW Devighat, and 5 MW Mailung Khola hydropower projects.
