Myagdi: Two hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 58.8 megawatts have been completed on the Rahughat River and its tributary flowing through Raghuganga Rural Municipality of Myagdi. Three additional projects with a capacity of 111 megawatts are in their final stage of construction.
The 37.5-megawatt Chimkhola–Rahughat–Mangle Hydropower Project built by Tundi Power Company and the 21.3-megawatt Thulokhola Hydropower Project of Samyukta Urja Limited have commenced commercial production.
It has been temporarily connected to the national grid from the switchyard of the Rahughat Hydropower Project located at Tilkenichaur, Raghuganga Rural Municipality–3. Since the construction of the Dandakhet–Rahughat transmission line project has not yet been completed, the generated electricity has been connected to the national system through a temporary structure to prevent it from going to waste, according to Tundi Power’s resident engineer Prakash Timilsina.
An 8-kilometer, 132 kV transmission line from Bandi to the Chimkhola–Rahughat–Mangle powerhouse in Chimkhola has been jointly built by the Thulokhola and the 22.5-megawatt Upper Thulokhola Hydropower Projects. Similarly, a 220 kV transmission line from Chimkhola to Tilkeni has been constructed jointly by the Thulokhola, Upper Thulokhola, Chimkhola–Rahughat–Mangle, and Upper Rahughat Hydropower Projects.
Binod Paudel, Plant Manager of Samyukta Urja, the promoter of the Thulokhola Hydropower Project built at Kuinemangle, Raghuganga Rural Municipality–8, informed that the project has been connected to the central transmission line since this Bhadra (August/September) and is now operating at full capacity.
The project, with an estimated cost of 3.6 billion rupees, has been financed under the leadership of Nepal Bank Limited, with Sunrise Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank, and Siddhartha Bank as co-investors. The water is diverted through a 3,382-meter tunnel and a 634-meter penstock pipe from the Thulokhola dam, located at Fedi in the border area of Kuinemangle and Chimkhola, and dropped into the powerhouse built at Chhari to generate electricity.
The water diverted through a 5.3-kilometer tunnel from the dam of the Chimkhola–Mangle–Rahughat Hydropower Project at Bandi in Raghuganga Rural Municipality–8 has been channeled through a 950-meter penstock pipeline to the powerhouse located at Bagar, Chimkhola, Raghuganga–7. The Upper Rahughat Hydropower Project, with a capacity of 48.5 megawatts and also promoted by Tundi Power along with Chimkhola–Mangle–Rahughat, has an estimated cost of 14 billion rupees.
Meanwhile, the Upper Rahughat has begun preparations for test production. The 40-megawatt Rahughat Hydropower Project, promoted by Raghuganga Hydro, a subsidiary of the Nepal Electricity Authority, and the 22.5-megawatt Upper Thulokhola Hydropower Project are also in their final stage of construction.
Source: Annapurna Post
