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A significant step has been taken toward building the necessary infrastructure to connect electricity generated from large hydropower projects under construction and planned in western Nepal to the national transmission system. With a target to develop a capacity to carry around 2,500 MW of electricity, the West Seti 400 kV Transmission Line Project has been advanced.

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) named “West Seti Transmission Limited” has already been established to implement the project. The project, estimated to cost around Rs 20 billion, will be developed with 30 percent equity investment and 70 percent debt financing.

This transmission line will serve as the main infrastructure for evacuating electricity from energy projects in western Nepal to the national grid. Through this project, electricity generated from the 750 MW West Seti Hydropower Project, 450 MW Seti River-6 Hydropower Project, 170 MW Upper Seti Hydropower Project, and other projects in the Seti River basin will be transmitted to the national system.

A 145-kilometer-long 400 kV double-circuit transmission line will be constructed from the Chainpur Substation in Bajhang through Banlek in Doti to the Dodhodhara Substation in Kailali. The project will also include substations with capacities of 160 MVA in Chainpur and 315 MVA in Banlek.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha emphasized the need to develop transmission infrastructure in parallel with power generation, describing transmission lines as the “lifeline” of the energy sector. He said the expansion of private sector investment from electricity generation into transmission infrastructure is a positive signal for the energy sector.

According to Chief Executive Officer of the National Transmission Grid Company Limited (RPGCL) Sagar Shrestha, land acquisition and preliminary survey work have already been completed. Construction work will be accelerated after obtaining forest clearance and right-of-way approvals.

Stakeholders in the energy sector say that adequate transmission infrastructure was essential to evacuate the large volume of electricity being generated in western Nepal to the national system. Once the West Seti 400 kV line is completed, electricity evacuation from hydropower projects in the western region will become easier, energy security will be strengthened, and it is expected to support future expansion of cross-border electricity trade.

Urjasanchar