Energy Spillage: Counting the Cost of Unfinished Transmission Lines in Nepal

Nepal’s power system has dramatically shifted from an energy deficit country to trading electricity with a neighbouring country. The average duration of power cuts has been reduced from over 12 hours per day in 2009 to less than two hours per day in 2022.

For this Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has successfully implemented different generation and transmission lines projects.

The transmission line is a crucial part of the power sector. INPS consists of a transmission line network of 66 KV to 400 KV, the total transmission circuit length is approximately 5500 Km, and the total circuit length of under construction transmission lines project for the year 2025 is around 1500 Km.
In INPS, Hydropower plants with a total installed capacity of 2100 MW are operational, and a further 1900MW installed capacity is expected to be connected to the national grid by 2025.

The involvement of several departments and authorities causes the transmission line project to be delayed. This increases the risk that the proposed transmission line won’t be finished in time.

The condition for energy spillage arises if the generating plant is ready for operation but cannot be linked to the national grid because of the unavailability of a transmission line.

Suppose the proposed transmission line’s construction is not completed by 2025. In that case, the Nepal Electricity Authority will lose roughly 17 crores per day during the wet season and 12 crores per day during the dry season because of energy spillage from hydropower plants that cannot be connected to the national grid.