The 220 kV Hetauda-Bharatpur transmission line, which is considered an important power supply in Makwanpur, Chitwan and other adjoining districts, has come online from Monday.

The Hetauda-Bharatpur section is a part of the Hetauda-Bharatpur-Bardghat transmission line project. According to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), it has charged the double circuit 220 KV transmission line of the 73 km stretch circuit at 132 kV for the time being and put it into operation.

The 220 kV transmission line connects the old Hetauda substation at Chowkitol of the Hetauda sub-metropolitan city, Makwanpur, with the new Bharatpur sub-station in Aptari of the Bharatpur Metropolitan City of Chitwan district.

After the commissioning of the Hetauda-Bharatpur section transmission line, around 170 MW of electricity can be supplied from Hetauda to Bharatpur and from Bharatpur to Hetauda. Prior to this, only about 90 MW of electricity was supplied through the old 132 kV transmission line.

The Hetauda-Bharatpur-Bardghat transmission line project has been built to enhance the transmission line for a reliable supply of electricity produced by the hydropower project to be built in the western region.

The project was started in 2008 with an investment of the government, the NEA and concessional loan from the World Bank (WB). The project has been divided into two sections Hetauda-Bharatpur and Bharatpur-Bardghat for construction.

The project faced a number of hurdles including the obstacles of the locals, problems in land acquisition, clearing of trees in forest areas and poor performance of the contractor, among others. After the WB withdrew from the project in October 2021, the remaining work was carried forward with the joint investment of the government and the NEA.

Meanwhile, the project said it has expedited installation work at Bharatpur-Bardaghat section that connects Bharatpur in Chitwan to Bardaghat in Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East). This section is expected to start its operation by mid-September.