NEA says power cut to industrial zone to continue until Upper Tamakoshi re-operated

Kathmandu: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said the industrial customers would have to bear with power cuts in the evening time until the re-operation of Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project which was damaged by flooding and landslide on September 27 and 28.

NEA Managing Director Kul Man Ghising said it has been difficult to manage power supply in the winter, as the 456 MW-capacity Upper Tamakoshi Project’s power generation has been closed due to the damage caused by the floods and landslide. Upper Tamakoshi is the largest among the hydroelectricity projects connected to the National Transmission Grid.

According to him, power supply to the industrial customers had to be cut down during the peak hour in the evening when there is high electricity consumption due to the problem to do with managing the demand.

NEA said although there will be some power cuts to the industrial sector with high power demand until power generation is started from the Upper Tamakoshi Project, power supply will be continued to other customers.

It clarified that power supply to the industrial zones had to be cut down to some extent because power production of the run-of-the-river hydropower projects decreases by one-third of their capacity in the winter season as the volume of water in the rivers and streams reduces, and the NEA has not been able to import power from India to meet the domestic demand in the peak hour.

Repair and maintenance of the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project is being carried out with the target of starting power generation by December 25.

According to NEA, the Central Electricity Authority of India has given permission to import up to 654 megawatts power daily, including 600 megawatts via the 400 kV Dhalkebar-Muzzafarpur Cross-border Transmission Line and 54 megawatts via the 132 kV Tanakpur-Mahendranagar Transmission Line, until March 15, 2025, for managing the power demand during the winter season.

However, there is the provision that electricity cannot be imported during the peak hour from 5p, to 9 pm, according to NEA.