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The massive floods in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers have severely damaged 12 operational power projects with a combined capacity of 431.1 MW, raising concerns of electricity shortages during the upcoming winter season.

According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the disaster knocked out 406.1 MW of hydropower stations and a 25 MW solar plant, along with critical transmission infrastructure. The affected facilities include the 111 MW Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, 78 MW Salasungi (Sanjen), 60 MW Upper Trishuli 3A, 42.5 MW Sanjen, 24 MW Trishuli, 14.8 MW Upper Mailung, 5 MW Mailung Khola, 14.8 MW Upper Sanjen, 14 MW Devighat, 20 MW Langtang, and 22 MW Chilime.

Transmission lines have also been disrupted, including the Chilime 220 kV hub tower, Samudratar-Trishuli 132 kV line, Chilime-Trishuli 66 kV line, Chilime hub-Trishuli 3B hub-Matatirtha 220 kV line, and the Trishuli-Balaju 66 kV line. NEA spokesperson Rajan Dhakal said the full extent of the damage is still being assessed. “It seems like it will take time to just clear the site for reconstructing these projects,” he noted.

Nepal’s total installed generation capacity reached 4,120 MW by the end of FY 2025/26, with more than 1,000 MW exported to India during peak production. However, winter output drops sharply as most plants are run-of-river facilities, while domestic demand rises during the dry season. Dhakal warned that reconstruction will cost billions of rupees and face logistical hurdles. “If the other under-construction projects cannot come online on time, we might have a tough time managing the power supply during winter,” he said.

In addition, 15 projects under construction - including Upper Trishuli-1, Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi, Upper Mailung, Upper Trishuli 3B, and Middle Trishuli Ganga - have been severely impacted. Together, these projects represent 470 MW of future generation capacity, bringing the total affected capacity to more than 900 MW.