The 50-MW project will generate 25 MW initially
KATHMANDU, Sept 24: Sinohydro-Sagarmatha Power Company (SSPC) Pvt Ltd is inaugurating the Upper Marsyangdi A Hydropower Project amid a function in Kathmandu on Monday.
The first unit (25 MW) of the 50-megawatt project is ready to generate electricity as all technical tests have been completed, according to officials of SSPC.
Minister for Energy Janardan Sharma and Ambassador of People's Republic of China to Nepal, Wu Chuntai, are scheduled to inaugurate the plant jointly on Monday.
Upper Marsyangdi A will be the largest project to start generation after the Madhya Marsyangdi (70 MW) which started commercial power generation in 2008.
However, the energy Upper Marsyangdi A would not be of much help to the country which is facing power deficit of nearly 1,000 MW. Nepal has installed capacity of only around 800 MW.
Sishupal Chhetri, deputy manager of SSPC, told Republica that all the tests, including transmission line testing, have been completed and that the project was ready for power generation. “We are in the process of starting load supply in Nepal Electricity Authority's grid. After that we will begin commercial generation,” he added.
A 20- km transmission line, built as per the contingency plan by the developer itself, connects the energy generated by the project to the substation of Madhya Marsyangdi near Beshisahar of Lamjung.
Sino Hydro Resources Ltd, a Chinese government undertaking, owns 90 percent stake in SSPC. Local firm Sagarmatha Power Company owns remaining 10 percent in the Rs 16-billion project. The plant generates 317 million units of electricity annually.
It is the first hydropower project built with foreign direct investment from China.
The second unit the project is expected to start generation by December-end, added Chhetri.
The project went on floor in January, 2013.
According to officials, it would be difficult to evacuate power generated by the project if construction of a 132 KVA transmission line that connects Upper Marsyangdi to Madhya
Marsyangdi is not completed by June, 2017. Work to install towers and transmission cables in 15-kilometer stretch is yet to be completed due to obstruction by locals.
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