Mugu District Joins National Grid, Expanding Nationwide Coverage

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Kathmandu, 25 August 2080. Mugu district of Karnali province is connected to the national electricity system (grid). The Nepal Electricity Authority has tapped the 33 KV transmission line from Kalikot to Jumla at a place called Nagma and constructed a line of about 85 km and delivered electricity to Gamgad, the headquarters of Mugu.

The authority has started supplying electricity from the national transmission line to Gamgad and other areas from Sunday. The authority had been supplying electricity to Mugu headquarters Gamgadi and surrounding areas by generating electricity from the 400 KW connected capacity Gamgad small hydropower project. With the arrival of the national transmission line in Mugu, electricity from the national grid has reached 76 districts out of 77 districts.

Now only Humla district of Karnali province is yet to be connected to the national transmission line. In Humla, the contract agreement has been completed and the survey is being carried out to bring it to the national transmission line.

Kulman Ghising, Managing director of the authority, mentioned that the issue of intermittent electricity supply in Mugu due to the shutdown of small hydroelectric plants will be solved after reaching the national transmission line. He said that since the national transmission line has been reached, the electrification will be accelerated.

Currently, there are 3,500 household customers of the authority in Mugu.

Due to the heavy rains in October last year, the Gamgad small hydropower plant was damaged and the electricity production was stopped. The authority immediately installed a diesel generator and provided electricity. The flood and landslide that came with heavy rain had damaged nearly 700 meters of the 1100 meters long canal of the power plant located in Chayannath Rara Municipality-4. Similarly, the substation structures of the power house were also damaged by the flood. Reconstruction and repair of canals damaged by floods and hydroelectric power plants were put into operation.

The Chief of the Karnali Pradesh Office of the Authority, Shambhu Kusiyat Yadav, explained that work is underway to upgrade the 33/11 kV substations and 11 kV lines in Gamgad to enhance the quality and capacity of electricity supply in Mugun.