The President of IPPAN, Mohan Kumar Dangi, has confirmed that while electricity production across Nepal has been affected by recent heavy rainfall and landslides, most hydropower projects have not suffered direct structural damage.
Hydropower Operations Amidst Heavy Rains
According to Dangi, many hydropower plants have temporarily stopped production for safety reasons, especially along the Kaligandki and Marsyangdi corridors. In the Kaligandki corridor, about 800 megawatts of power were disconnected from the national grid after transmission towers 21 and 22 of the 220 kV line were damaged. Although the transmission line had problem, the main project structures were not directly hit, except for a switch at the Raughat project.
Several projects in the Kaligandki area are currently offline. These include Raughat 40 MW, Raughat-Mangle 37 MW, Upper Raughat 48.5 MW, Nilgiri 38 MW, Nilgiri Cascade 71 MW, Ghaleimdi 5 MW, Ghar Khola 14 MW, Upper Thulo Khola 22.5 MW, Thulo Khola 21.5 MW, Mistri Khola 42 MW, and Thapa Khola 13.6 MW.
Similarly, projects in the Marsyangdi corridor have stopped production to prevent water from entering their powerhouses and tunnels. The projects shut down include Kaligandki A 144 MW, Marsyangdi 50 MW, Super Madi 44 MW, Seti 25 MW, Upper Madi 25 MW, Namarjung 12 MW, Marsyangdi 69 MW, and Middle Marsyangdi 70 MW.
Risk Assessment in Chame and Rasuwa
There is a growing risk in the Chame area of Manang because a landslide blocked the Marsyangdi River. Dangi stated that a large amount of water is building up behind this blockage, and authorities are keeping close watch in case it breaks and causes damage to the areas below. Fortunately, there are no reports of direct damage to the projects under construction in that area so far.
In Rasuwa, 431 megawatts of power is out of the system. Dangi explained that 155 megawatts of this capacity did not suffer direct damage but stopped because of transmission line issues. He mentioned that the status of the remaining projects will be clear only after conducting site surveys, and some might take a long time to start up again.
Restoring Power and Future Opportunities
Efforts are underway to coordinate with the Nepal Electricity Authority to bring the 155 megawatts back to the grid as soon as possible, and the authority has started preparing to repair the damaged parts. Dangi emphasized that private sector should also be involved in building the broken transmission structures.
Interestingly, the shut down of some projects has given a chance for others under the take-and-pay system to run at full capacity. Previously, these plants were often asked to reduce production, but now they are encouraged to run fully. Since the heavy rains continued even in Ashoj, the water level may stay high for a while, which could help keep power generation going longer than the usual end-of-monsoon period.
Dangi concluded that no major damage to the headworks of the projects has been reported yet. He believes that the timely information provided by the government, energy associations, and media helped operators and local people stay alert, which reduced the impact of the disaster.
AI Disclaimer: This article was originally published on https://bajarkochirfar.com. It has been translated with the help of AI. For the best understanding and accurate facts, we recommend reading the original Nepali version.
