11 Megawatts Electricity Generated in Dolakha Going to Waste

Kathmandu, 16 September: A total of 11 MW of electricity generated by Ankhukhola Hydropower Project and Sipring Khola Hydropower Project in Dolakha district have been going to waste as the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has yet to sign power purchase agreement with the two projects. Executive director of Ankhukhola Hydropower Project, Bishwanath Kandel, said they have been suffering losses. Ankhukhola has been generating 9 MW. Kandel said NEA has been purchasing all the power generated by the project during daytime but only partial amount generated during the nighttime, hence the loss. “NEA purchases only 7 megawatts generated between 10 pm to 7 am, and the rest of the electricity generated during nighttime has been going to waste,” he said.
Electricity generated by other projects in the district is also going to waste in the lack of transmission lines. The Sipring Khola Hydropower Project generates 11 MW but only 3 MW is being used by the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project and the rest is going to waste, according to a top official of Sipring Khola project. Engineer of the project, Pushkar Dhungel, said the project is suffering a monthly loss of Rs 10 million as the NEA has not been purchasing the electricity. He said the project’s power could not be connected to the national grid due to the delay by the government in constructing Singati-Lamosanghu transmission line.