Kathmandu. More than half-a-dozen hydropower projects have been damaged by flash floods in the Bhotekoshi River, which flows towards Nepal through the northern border point originating in China’s Tibet.
In addition, the flood caused by incessant rain on Tuesday night has completely damaged the Kalungkhola Hydropower Project in Baglung district.
According to The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), about 250 MW of electricity has been cut off from the national transmission system due to the damage of seven hydropower projects based on the Trishuli River. The Bhotekoshi River originates in Tibet and is the source of the Trishuli and Sunkoshi rivers.
According to a press release issued by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) on Wednesday, the dam structure of the 111 MW Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project has been completely damaged. The 22 MW Chilime Hydropower Project has come to a standstill due to flooding and damage to the drainage system.
The 60 MW Upper Trishuli-3 ‘A’ dam has been buried due to which the production has come to a standstill. The 25 MW Trishuli and 14 MW Devighat hydropower stations on the lower banks have been shut down due to the floods. The production of private sector hydropower plants like Upper Mailung and Tadi has also come to a halt.
According to nea, the flood in Trishuli has changed the course of the river and entered the Trishuli-3 ‘B’ hub substation and damaged the structure with a 132 KV bay. A landslide has damaged the power plant of Jhankre Khola Hydropower Station at Baseri of Jiri Municipality-9. The 635 kW hydropower plant has collapsed and the power generation unit has been shut down.
It is estimated that more than Rs 5 billion may have been lost due to the damage caused by the floods in the hydropower projects.
