Kathmandu, November 18: The Dana–Rahughat section of the 220 kV Kaligandaki Corridor transmission line in Myagdi, which was damaged by floods, landslides and erosion along the Kaligandaki River following incessant rainfall on October 11, has resumed operation after 21 days.
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) brought the section back into temporary operation using an Emergency Restoration System (ERS) tower. One 220 kV circuit of the transmission line was energised at 10:15 pm on Saturday, allowing the section to resume temporary operation.
Floods damaged four transmission towers at Pokharebagar in Ward No. 6 of Annapurna Rural Municipality, Myagdi. Of these, towers numbered 21, 23 and 24 were completely destroyed, while tower number 22 sustained partial damage. Following the disruption, a total of 170 MW of electricity generated by five privately owned hydropower projects connected to the national grid through the Dana Substation could not be transmitted to the national system. With the line back in operation, electricity generated by these projects has been reconnected to the national transmission system.
NEA Managing Director Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha said the authority had successfully restored temporary operation of the transmission line using an ERS tower through the round-the-clock efforts of its employees and coordination with private-sector hydropower projects. He noted that installing an ERS tower in the geographically challenging and remote location had been difficult, but the work was completed through sustained efforts.
According to Roshan Khadka, chief of the NEA’s Pokhara Grid Division, the process of permanently rebuilding the towers damaged by the floods has begun following the temporary restoration of the transmission line using the ERS tower. The Dana–Rahughat section will return to normal operation once the permanent towers are constructed.
The 220 kV double-circuit Kaligandaki Corridor transmission line was built to integrate electricity generated by hydropower projects along the Kaligandaki River and its tributaries into the national transmission system. Starting from the Dana Substation in Ward No. 3 of Annapurna Rural Municipality, Myagdi, the approximately 130-kilometre transmission line passes through Parbat, Baglung, Syangja, Palpa and Rupandehi districts before reaching the New Butwal Substation in Ward No. 13 of Sunwal Municipality, Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta West).
The transmission line has the capacity to transmit approximately 1,200 MW of electricity.
