Oct 2, 2015- 22MW electricity generated by the Maikhola Hydropower Project in Ilam will be added to the national grid on Friday, which is expected to give much needed relief to the people of the eastern region from load-shedding.
“As the country is reeling under a severe energy crisis, the addition of the 22MW power means a lot,” said Mukesh Raj Kafle, managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). “There were serious issues related to voltage in the eastern region and the added power will help us reduce it.”
The 22MW power is evacuated through a 132 kV transmission line under the
first phase of the Kabeli corridor. The corridor will connect 90MW electricity generated by nine projects to the national grid.
As per the timeline, construction work on the Kabeli corridor should have been completed by July last year. But the NEA, which is responsible for the construction, has been extending the deadline time and again.
While an 11km-long power line to evacuate the energy was developed by the Maikhola project itself, the NEA constructed a 34.5km transmission line to take the energy to the Ilam substation. The NEA had expected to complete the first phase of transmission line by Dec 25, 2014. However, it took around nine more months.
The NEA had made efforts to connect the power generated by the Maikhola project to the national system on Thursday, but it was not possible due to some technical glitch. “However, we have now analysed the issue and we will resume the task on Friday,” said Sanima Mai Hydropower Company CEO Subarna Das Shrestha. Shrestha said 7MW energy will be first evacuated, and will be gradually raised to 10MW, 15MW and 22MW. “Full-fledged supply, however, will not take much time,” he said.
The project has been built with 70 percent financing by Non-Resident Nepalis, 10 percent by locals and 20 percent by the general public through an initial public offering.
The company is also developing 7MW Mai Cascade Hydropower Project. Shrestha said the company has completed construction of the cascade project. “We will soon be conducting a test,” he said,
adding since the transmission line is already in place, the project will be able to deliver energy as soon as it begins generation.
Source : The Kathmandu Post
