Kathmandu, September 23
The Nepal Electricity Authority has begun necessary preparations to manage the rising electricity demand expected in Kathmandu Valley and other areas during the upcoming winter.
A meeting held at the Authority on Tuesday to discuss winter electricity demand and supply management decided to accelerate the required studies and work.
The preparations come after flooding along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers in Rasuwa district damaged hydropower stations operating in that area, halting power generation.
The meeting, chaired by Authority Executive Director Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha, was attended by deputy executive directors of the Project Management and Transmission directorates, department heads, and project chiefs.
The meeting formed a five-member committee, convened by the director of the Bagmati Provincial Office, to carry forward the necessary studies and work for managing winter electricity demand. The committee has been instructed to submit daily progress reports to the executive director and to promptly report any problems arising during implementation.
At the meeting, Executive Director Shrestha said that although the halt in generation from power stations in the Trishuli River basin has put some pressure on demand and supply management. There would be no need for load-shedding this coming winter.
He said preparations for managing power supply were already being carried forward.
The meeting also set a deadline for completing ongoing transmission and distribution projects under construction in and around Kathmandu Valley.
Likewise, it decided to discuss various options for making power supply more reliable in flood-affected Nuwakot and Rasuwa and to proceed with the necessary process. A team has also been mobilised to conduct a field study on the possibility of bringing the flood-damaged Devighat substation back into operation.
