A preliminary conclusion has been drawn that 26 hydropower projects across the country have been damaged due to continuous rainfall. In a press conference held on Sunday at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Energy Minister Deepak Khadka stated that damages amounting to Rs 2.45 billion have been incurred in the energy sector and Rs 1.35 billion in river control and irrigation. “The process of receiving damage reports and data is ongoing, and we will update once the complete data is collected,” he said.

He also mentioned that due to continuous rainfall from Thursday night to Saturday,electricity generation equivalent to 1,100 megawatts has been halted. The ministry stated that 15 under-construction projects with a total installed capacity of 1,010 megawatts have been damaged.

Damage has occurred to 11 hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 625.96 megawatts that are currently in operation. According to the ministry’s statement, the affected projects include the 456-megawatt Upper Tamakoshi, the 22-megawatt Bagmati Small Hydropower Project, the 22.1-megawatt Lower Hewa Khola, the 14.9-megawatt Hewa Khola-A, the 86-megawatt Solu Dudhkoshi, the 4-megawatt Mai Khola Cascade, the 9.6-megawatt Mai Khola Hydropower, the 1-megawatt Feme Khola, the 5-megawatt Siuri Khola, the 2-megawatt Khani Khola, and the 4.36-megawatt Tungun Thosne.

According to the statement, damage has also occurred to the under-construction 216-megawatt Upper Trishuli-1, the 40-megawatt Super Nyadi, the 25-megawatt Ileph Khola Tatopani, the 5-megawatt Hewa Khola, the 15.1-megawatt Sabha Khola B, the 6.3-megawatt Sabha Khola C, the 86.59-megawatt Landruk Modi, the 100-megawatt Super Trishuli, the 20-megawatt Langtang Khola, the 14.9-megawatt Maya Khola, the 99.4-megawatt Lapche Khoda, the 40-megawatt Bhotekoshi 1, the 82-megawatt Lower Solu, the 140-megawatt Tanahu, and the 120-megawatt Rasuwa Bhotekoshi projects.

Kulman Ghising, the Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, stated that the most damage has occurred at Upper Tamakoshi. He mentioned that the largest operational project, the 456-megawatt Upper Tamakoshi, has been closed for three days, and the process of collecting details about the damage is ongoing. Damage has occurred to the control room building at the Tamakoshi dam site, as well as to structures, including the reservoir. Additionally, four employees are missing.

Due to the erosion of the Tamakoshi River, the tower of the Khimti-Lamosangu transmission line has been washed away, causing problems in connecting 200 megawatts of electricity to the system, the ministry has reported. The Khimti-Lamosangu transmission line is used to bring electricity to Kathmandu. Flooding in the Mai River of Ilam has caused damage to four towers of the Kabeli Corridor 132 kV transmission line. After the flood damaged the transmission line, around 185 megawatts of electricity production from projects in Taplejung, Panchthar, and Ilam has been halted.

The floods in the Mai River have caused damage to towers 50, 51, 52, and 53, which are part of the Kabeli Corridor transmission line section that runs from Godak in Ilam to Damak in Jhapa. The span of the transmission line at this location is 750 meters. Among the four towers, the flood has completely damaged towers 51 and 52, which have collapsed. Towers 50 and 53 have suffered partial damage.

The top structure of tower 50 has been damaged. The cross arm and top structure of tower 53 have also been affected. The ministry’s irrigation secretary, Sarita Duwadi, mentioned that various irrigation projects and river control efforts have also suffered damage. Projects like the Kamala and Narayani irrigation schemes have been affected.

Source: Kantipur