Despite his rare public appearances, Manoj Silwal, the Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), is known for his proactive approach and decisive actions. In just over two months, MD Silwal has quietly made several crucial decisions to speed up the progress of projects that were previously stalled due to the indecisiveness of his predecessor.

Shortly after taking on his role, MD Silwal promptly sent a technical team to address the maintenance issues of the 30 MW units at Trisuli A and the 15 MW unit at Chameliya, which had been non-operational for nearly two months due to a lack of guidance. These issues were resolved within a few days.

Thanks to MD Silwal's proactive measures, the Rasuwa Gadhi Hydropower Project in Rasuwa, developed under the management of Chilime Hydropower - an NEA affiliate - has started partial operations.

Collecting the first installments of dues from industrialists and resuming the work of underground cable in Kathmandu Valley are other major achievements of Silwal's two-month tenure.

Following a devastating flood caused by a glacial lake outburst in the Lyende River from Tibet, China on July 8, 2025, which severely damaged the project's dam and other structures, it was initially estimated that it would take over two years to resume operations. However, after conducting site inspections, Silwal instructed officials to speed up the repair process.

Subsequently, repairs were made to the headwork, and water was temporarily diverted from the river, allowing one of the three units at the powerhouse to be operational as of Saturday, November 6. This unit, with an installed capacity of 111 megawatts, is currently generating 37 megawatts of electricity.

Appointed on the recommendation of Kulman Ghising, Minister of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, MD Silwal, who has had a long career at NEA in various roles, is well-versed in NEA management. Recognizing MD Silwal's skills, Minister Ghising chose him to lead NEA.

NEA Managing Director Manoj Silwal assured that the remaining two units would be up and running within a month, and the remaining reconstruction work in the headwork area would be completed before the next monsoon season.

MD Silwal credited the resumption of operations to the dedicated efforts of NEA, Chilime, and Rasuwa Gandhi Hydropower Company officials and staff. He emphasized that restarting electricity generation from the project would help better manage winter electricity demand.

The flood had swept away equipment such as machines and gates used to block debris brought by the river. Buildings related to headwork control had accumulated over two meters of sediment, large boulders were deposited in the area, and structures diverting water into the tunnel were destroyed. Water had stagnated in the tailrace, flooding the turbine floor completely.

On the day of the incident, an army helicopter rescued 22 employees from the hydropower project's headwork and residential areas. The employee housing area was completely demolished. The flood not only caused damage to the hydropower project but also triggered landslides that blocked several points on the main highway connecting Syafrubesi to the project site.

The project had started commercial electricity production on Poush 16, 2081. However, power generation came to a halt after the flood in Ashar caused significant damage. Once fully operational, the project is projected to produce 613,875,000 units of electricity annually, generating an annual revenue of Rs. 3.25 billion for the company through electricity sales.

Seven old grid substations of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have been successfully automated as part of a long-term strategy to modernize the electrical system. The automation of these substations, including Panchkhal, Banepa, Patan, Lainchaur, Balaju, Chapali, and Bhaktapur, has been completed, with operations now controlled from a central control room in Minbhawan. A new control room has also been established for the automated operation and control of these substations.

The remaining six substations, namely Syuchatar, Teku, Matatirtha, Chabahil, K3, and Lamasanghu, are expected to be connected to the automated system within the next two months. Once fully automated, these substations will be linked to the load dispatch center in Syuchatar through the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, enhancing the overall system operation.

NEA's Executive Director, Manoj Silwal, highlighted the benefits of automation, including reduced power interruptions, improved load management using real-time data, decreased operational and maintenance costs, minimized technical losses, and facilitated smart grid development. The move towards unmanned operation will further streamline operations, eliminating the need for physical presence of employees during operation.

Funded by the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Electricity Transmission and Distribution Efficiency Strengthening Project, the automation of these substations was made possible through concessional loans totaling around Rs. 610 million. Plans are also in place to automate the remaining 64 grid substations nationwide within the next one and a half years, with the ultimate goal of achieving full automation across all substations.