'At least 3 months needed to normalize power supply from Sunkoshi basin'
KATHMANDU, Aug 11: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said it would take at least three months to restore power supply from Sunkoshi River basin and that the load-shedding hours will remain the same until the supply is fully restored.
Landslide in Jure and subsequent flood in Sunkoshi River damaged two powerhouses and three transmission lines on August 2, cutting supply of 66 MW generated in the Sunkoshi basin. This prompted NEA to raise load-shedding to 59 hours per week from weekly power cut of 47 hours.
Sher Singh Bhat, spokesperson of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), said the state-owned power utility held coordination committee last week to discuss the issue. “It is likely to take about three months to restore complete power supply from the Sunkoshi basin,” he added.
Upper Bhotekoshi Hydropower Company (45 MW) had tried to install emergency restoration system of the transmission line to restore power supply. But such system is not available in the country.
Landslide and flood swept away two pylons of 132 kV transmission line - one is completely submerged in the artificial lake while the other is partially damaged. The transmission line was evacuating power generated by Upper Bhotekoshi, according to Bhat.
Likewise, other 11 kV and 33 kV transmission lines have also been damaged. The 11 kV transmission line was used to evacuate power generated by Sunkoshi Khola Hydropower Project (2.5 MW), while the 33 kV was evacuating power generated by Chaku Khola (6 MW) and Bhairab Kunda (3 MW).
Sunkoshi Khola Hydropower has been completely submerged, while gates of the dam of NEA´s Sunkoshi Hydropower Project (10 MW) have been swept away.
“We have started preparation to install new gates at the dam. But we will have to wait for the water level to recede,” Bhat said.
The gates were swept away in the similar manner 27 years ago too. It had taken NEA three months to restore those gates.
“We can restore power supply from 11 kV and 33 kV transmission lines by erecting temporary steel pillars,” he added.
Officials of Load Dispatch Center told Republica that NEA could have operated Kulekhani hydropower project to reduce load-shedding in peak hours. “But the reservoir doesn´t have sufficient water,” one of the officials said. “There was no alternative to increasing load-shedding hours as water level in Kulekhani reservoir, the only storage project in the country, is still below the normal level.”
According to NEA, water level is Kulekhani reservoir is only at 1515 meters. Water level was at 1520 meters at the same time last year. The maximum storage capacity of the reservoir is 1530 meters.
(Source: Republica)
