KATHMANDU, Dec 5: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has brought seven of its older grid substations under an automated operating system as part of its long-term plan to modernize and digitize the country’s power network.
Automation work had begun for 13 substations in total. Among them, Panchkhal, Banepa, Patan, Lainchaur, Balaju, Chapali, and Bhaktapur substations have already been integrated into the automated system and are now being operated from a new central control room built at NEA’s Minbhawan office.
Fully-automated online trading system from mid-November
According to NEA, the remaining six substations — Syuchatar, Teku, Matatirtha, Chabahil, K3, and Lamasanghu — will be automated within the next two months. Once integrated through supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) via the Syuchatar Load Dispatch Centre, the system is expected to strengthen unified grid operation and improve stability.
NEA Executive Director Manoj Silwal said full automation will help reduce frequent outages, enable real-time data-based load management, lower operational and maintenance costs, cut technical losses, and support the development of a smart grid. He added that automated substations will gradually shift to unmanned operation.
The upgrades are financed through a concessional loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Electricity Transmission and Distribution Efficiency Enhancement Project. The overall cost of the automation component is around Rs 610 million.
Work is also underway — with ADB support — to automate the remaining 64 grid substations nationwide, a project expected to be completed within the next 18 months. Once finished, all grid substations across Nepal will operate under an automated system.
