Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) today announced it will develop and standardise 55 substations across the country within this fiscal year.

Along with the end to power cuts in the country, NEA has said it will develop new substations and standardise existing substations in a bid to ensure effective power supply.

Under this plan, NEA will complete developing and standardising 30 grids and 25 distribution substations. In the last one year, NEA has completed the construction of 19 grids and 20 distribution substations across the country. Five of the 20 new substations were inaugurated in the last three days.

“NEA plans to complete the construction of 600 kilometres of new transmission lines and 8,000 kilometres of distribution lines by the end of this fiscal year,” reads a press statement issued by NEA today.

Minister for Energy Barshaman Pun, who is also the chairman of the board of NEA, said that the government is focusing on the development of high-capacity transmission lines to ensure that produced power is consumed within domestic market.

“As the country will have surplus electricity production soon, we should expand the market for electricity in the country. In a bid to ensure that electricity consumption is increased and surplus electricity does not go to waste, we should promote industrialisation and encourage the private sector to set up new industries,” said Pun.

Citing that the country will have surplus electricity production soon, he asked NEA to develop necessary grid, transmission lines and other infrastructure accordingly.

Urging contractors to complete the construction of different transmission lines within the designated period, Pun said that the government will recognise those contractors completing their projects on time while it will take action against those contractors failing to do so.

NEA also informed that priority has been given to construction of high-capacity transmission lines along different industrial areas and corridors to ensure uninterrupted power supply in such areas.

Similarly, Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, secretary at the Ministry of Energy, said that the government’s prime focus has been to expand the energy distribution system and construction of transmission lines. “This will not only ensure effective supply of energy but will also increase people’s access to electricity,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kul Man Ghising, managing director of NEA, said effective supply of electricity is necessary to raise consumption of electricity in country. “We are committed to controlling power leakage, ensuring uninterrupted supply of electricity and supplying electricity as per demand.”