Nepal’s electricity production becomes 2,689.83 MW

KATHMANDU: Over the last year, the national grid received an additional 552 MW of electricity from private sector power producers.

In one year, between mid-April 2022 and mid-March 2023, 32 power projects run by the private sector supplied a total of 552.119 MW of electricity, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority’s (NEA) records. This covers both hydroelectric and solar power generated by facilities.

In the private sector, 28 hydropower plants generated 523.319 MW of electricity, while four solar power plants generated 28.8 MW.

The largest private sector investment project to go online during the period, according to the NEA, was the 86 MW Solu-Dudhkoshi.

Similarly, nine projects with a combined production of 157.470 MW are in the test production stage. Six hydropower plants totaling 138.67 MW and three solar power plants with a combined capacity of 18.8 MW are among them.

Nepal’s total installed electrical capacity has increased to 2,532 point 36 MW. A total of 1,392.92 MW of this is produced by private companies, with a contribution of 661.34 MW from the NEA and 478.10 MW from its subsidiaries. Total electricity production in the nation is 2,689.83 MW, including power plants that are in operation for testing.

By mid-July of the current fiscal year, the NEA anticipates adding an additional 124.698 MW of electricity to the national grid. The country will have a total installed capacity of 2,814.525 MW if the production is realized. .

By the end of the current fiscal year, hydropower projects at 6.42 MW Upper Mailung A, 14.3 MW Upper Malun, 14.8 MW Upper Sanjen, 3.2 MW Gelung, and 4.8 MW Khorunga Khola are expected to be operational. In a similar vein, projects like the 0 point975 MW Idi Khola, 10 point3 MW Down Piluwa, 33 point4 MW Likhu-2, 4 point7 MW Upper Chirkhuwa, and 5 point8 MW Upper Phawa are also scheduled to begin operating during this time.

The production from the 8 MW Duhabi Solar, 10 MW Baki Block Solar-1, and 8 MW Bhrikuti PV solar projects is also anticipated to start by the end of this fiscal year.