Incessant rain hampers production and supply of 500 MW of electricity across Nepal

Published On: July 10, 2020 03:42 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, July 10: The generation and supply of about 500 megawatt of electricity has been hampered due to the incessant rain and rise in the levels of rivers across the nation.

The generation of 240 MW of electricity from the power houses under Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and 250 MW electricity from power houses promoted by the private sector has been halted. Kulman Ghising, managing director of NEA, informed Republica Online that the incessant rain has impacted the generation, transmission and distribution systems across the country. He said that the generation of 40 percent of electricity from NEA’s powerhouses has been halted due to floods and continuous rain across the nation.

“The supply of electricity has been hampered as the generation of electricity, transmission and distribution systems have been affected. So, we have been managing the supply by withdrawing a minimum amount of electricity at some places,” he said, adding, “Self generation has been affected so we have imported electricity from Kataiya, Dhalkebar for the supply of electricity.”

According to NEA, technical staffers are engaged in their respective jobs 24 hours to fix the problems in power houses, transmission and distribution lines. The NEA is working to bring the power houses and systems back into operation.

Nepal’s biggest 144 MW Kaligandaki A Hydroelectric Power Station has stopped working from Friday morning due to floods. Pashupati Gautam, chief of the power house, informed Republica Online that there is no surety on when the power house will come into operation now as the water level of Kaligandaki has risen dramatically.

The NEA’s 70 MW Middle Marsyangdi Hydropower Station, 16 MW Trishuli Hydropower Station, 14 MW Devighat Power House have stopped operating due to the seasonal hindrance. Similarly, the private sector power houses generating 240 MW of electricity including the 45 MW Upper Bhotekoshi are out of service. The incessant rain has also hampered the Kabeli Corridor transmission line at Siddhithumka, Ilam halting the generation of 150 MW electricity from projects connected to this line. There have been problems in electricity supply as heavy rainfall has caused disconnection of wires and fallen trees have damaged electricity lines across the country.