As cold weather has intensified in the Himalayan district of Rasuwa, the drop in water levels in rivers and streams has affected electricity generation. According to concerned business operators, the increase in cold in the upper regions of the district has reduced the rate of snowmelt, and with water beginning to freeze, the water level in rivers and streams has declined, thereby impacting electricity production.

In recent days, the concerned project authorities have reported that only 16 megawatts are being generated from the 22-megawatt Chilime Hydropower Project, 6 megawatts from the 14.8-megawatt Upper Sanjen, 30 megawatts from the 42.5-megawatt Lower Sanjen, and only 5 megawatts from the 78-megawatt Salasungi project.

Informing that electricity generation is being significantly curtailed due to the cold, engineer Raju Shrestha, who works at Salasungi Hydropower, said, “Due to extreme cold, the water level in the streams has currently dropped. As the water flow decreases, we are forced to generate electricity below capacity. After Chaitra, the rate of snowmelt increases and the flow of water in the streams begins to rise. After that, electricity generation starts according to the project’s capacity.”

Meanwhile, Satyaram Jyakhuwa, Chief Executive Officer of the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Company, informed that following reconstruction of the structures of the 111-megawatt Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, which were damaged by floods last Asar, the project is currently generating 37 megawatts of electricity. It has been stated that once the reconstruction work of the project - affected by flooding in local rivers - is fully completed, electricity generation during winter is expected to reach around 65 to 70 megawatts.