On the day of Laxmi Puja this Tihar (as of Thursday evening), the country’s peak electricity demand reached a record 1,602 MW, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

The peak demand was recorded at 6:25 PM on Sunday. Last year, on Laxmi Puja, which fell on November 12, the peak demand was 1,438 MW. This year, the demand increased by 164 MW.

However, as factories and industries remain closed during Tihar, the peak demand recorded does not include industrial customers and the manufacturing sector. The electricity demand on Laxmi Puja day was met entirely through power generated by domestic power plants.

The NEA reported that after fulfilling domestic needs, an additional 253 MW of electricity was exported to India during the peak hours. In contrast, 517 MW were exported during peak hours last year.

This year, electricity exports were affected by damage from floods and landslides in late September, which halted production from the Upper Tamakoshi project (456 MW capacity) and the Kabeli Corridor transmission line, and several other smaller hydropower projects.

The total electricity demand in the system, including exports, was recorded at 1,855 MW on Laxmi Puja. Last year, the system's peak demand stood at 1,955 MW.

In the Kathmandu Valley, the peak demand for Laxmi Puja was recorded at 390 MW, up from 366 MW last year.

Kulman Ghising, Managing Director of the NEA, noted that in the past, Laxmi Puja day was associated with peak demand during load shedding, but that is no longer the case. He explained, “Eight years ago, we had to import electricity to manage the demand on Laxmi Puja day, but in recent years, internal production alone has met the demand, allowing us to export surplus electricity. This marks a historic leap for the energy sector. If not for the damage caused by floods and landslides to hydropower projects and transmission lines, we could have exported nearly 1,000 MW on Laxmi Puja day this year.”

Ghising highlighted that the end of load shedding, continuous electricity supply and extensive electrification contributed to the yearly increase in electricity demand within the country.

The NEA began phasing out load shedding in 2016, starting on Laxmi Puja day as a trial. Following successful trials, the country was officially declared load-shedding-free in May 2018. Currently, Nepal not only enjoys load-shedding-free status but also exports surplus electricity generated during the rainy season. Since last fiscal year, Nepal has transitioned from being a net importer to a net exporter of electricity.

While the reservoir-based Kulekhani hydropower plant has a total production capacity of 106 MW across its first, second, and third units, the NEA operated it at only 62 MW during peak hours. The authority’s other power plants contributed an additional 62 MW, while 90 MW came from hydropower plants owned by its subsidiaries, including Chilime. The private sector added 1,304 MW to the overall supply.

The NEA confirmed that, similar to the last year, it successfully provided uninterrupted electricity supply across the country on Laxmi Puja. To prevent any power disruptions, distribution center heads, power plant managers, and technical staff nationwide were kept on standby.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Purna Bahadur Tamang, along with Secretary Suresh Acharya, NEA board member Ratan Air, Managing Director Kulman Ghising, Deputy Executive Director of Customer and Distribution Services Manoj Silwal, and Deputy Executive Director of Transmission Directorate Dirgayu Kumar Shrestha, visited the control room of the power transmission center in Syuchatar on Thursday to monitor electricity demand and supply management for Laxmi Puja.