The country’s largest Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, which is financed by domestic investment, has halted electricity production for 18 hours. The production was stopped on Sunday morning to clean the debris that had accumulated in the reservoir of the hydropower plant.

The 456 MW capacity hydropower plant started draining the reservoir’s water from 5 a.m. on Sunday to remove the accumulated sand and other debris, a process that will continue until 10 p.m. Due to this, electricity production will be halted for 18 hours, according to Purna Gopal Ranjit, the manager of the power plant.

He mentioned that during this time, the Tamakoshi Hydropower Plant will also clean and maintain the sedimentation pond, tunnel, and power house. Although the reservoir needs to be cleaned twice a year, this time they have started cleaning it a bit earlier. He explained that due to the heavy floods and landslides this year, debris has accumulated in the reservoir, necessitating an earlier cleanup.

A public notice has been issued urging residents in the riverbank areas to remain cautious as the water flow in the Tamakoshi River will fluctuate during the reservoir cleaning process. When releasing water from the dam, the water level in the river can suddenly rise, so locals in the Tamakoshi and Sunkoshi riverbank areas are advised not to go fishing, swimming, bathing, washing clothes, performing cremations, or extracting sand from the river.

On the 5th July, due to flooding, the doors of the Tamakoshi dam were opened to drain the reservoir, which resulted in an 18-hour halt in production. Manager Ranjit of the Tamakoshi Hydropower Plant mentioned that since the electricity production has been stopped according to the planned schedule for reservoir cleaning, there will be no financial loss.

We have produced more electricity than our target,” he said. “There will be no loss as Tamakoshi’s electricity will not be available on the national transmission line for 18 hours.” He mentioned that there is a schedule to clean the reservoir again in the coming month of (September / October) before the winter season begins.

Source: Katipur