KATHMANDU: Nepal’s electricity production has reached around 2,000 MW after the 456-MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project (UTHP) started full-fledged production from Sunday.

The UTHP that started its test production two months ago has now gone into its commercial production with a full-fledged energy production. According to Kulman Ghising, managing director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the country is now self-reliant on electricity.

Despite having adequate production, lack of infrastructure including the transmission lines has led to the wastage of the produced energy. According to the NEA, a total of 400 MW of electricity is going to waste during night while the loss during day time stands at around 200 MW to 300 MW on a daily basis. This has made the power utility to face a financial loss of Rs 40 million every day.

NEA has proposed to export 456-MW of the UTHP and 45-MW of Bhote Koshi Hydropower Project to India, which is yet to be materialized. Currently, 108 private hydropower projects have been supplying 815-MW of electricity to the national grid. In total, the country now consumes 1,542 MW of electricity.