Hope On Hydropower

In a good sign for the economy, overall job market and future of the country as a whole, development of hydropower in the country has been making impressive headway in recent years. So much so that it has caught the attention of several high-profile businessmen and investors alike. Billionaire Binod Chaudhary is one among them. Chaudhary, who is also a lawmaker, recently inaugurated 4.72-MW Menchhiyam Hydel project in Sankhuwasabha district. The district is said to have a capacity to produce over 5,000-MW electricity. With several hydel project totaling 1,167-MW under-constructions and some already in the pipeline, Sankhuwasabha is on track to become a hydropower hub. According to the Department of Electricity Development (DED), 15 promoter companies are presently constructing different hydel projects, five companies have sought permission to develop 1,258.1-MW capacity projects, not to mention the under-construction 900-MW-Arun III and Arun-IV.

In addition, 18 projects have applied for survey licenses. If all these possibilities are translated into reality, the district will be generating hydroelectricity totaling 5125.75-MW. This comes at a time when the country has started exporting its surplus power to India. Revenue worth billions of rupees has already been collected from the export. The more electricity we generate, the more we will be able to consume and export. This also means that we will be able to constrict the ever-ballooning trade deficit and have disposable fund for development of infrastructures that are desperately needed to run industries and facilitate trade and business at home and abroad. As this also paves way for the running of more and more electric vehicles, we will be spared of importing petroleum products. Power is the engine of today’s economy, breathing life into every sector of growth and development. 

Meanwhile, it has come to light that Sankhuwasabha locals have sought 40 per cent share of the total equity in the 1,061-MW Upper Arun hydel project planned to be constructed by Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). The electricity authority should consider their demands and fulfill the reasonable ones in a win-win situation. Countries around the world are seeking to develop green energy with utmost urgency. They have accorded top priority to electricity, one of the cleanest sources of energy, and phased out the use of dirty fossil fuels. Investment in renewable energy has also grown by leaps and bounds. It is both renewable and sought-after, for it has zero contribution to climate change. Importantly, if we are to achieve economic prosperity and rapid development, development of hydel projects is the best way forward. 

Like Sankhuwasabha, several districts in Karnali Province have the potential to become hydropower hub. Surkhet, Dailekh and Kalikot, among other districts, through which the mighty Karnali River meanders, have immense potential for abundant electricity generation. The need to turn our attention there cannot be overstated. Producing hydropower and expanding transmission line – conduit through which electricity makes it way to the end-users – must go hand in hand, because without the latter, produced electricity will go waste. We have plenty of such cases of wasted electricity. The MCC fund centres on the development of transmission lines and other hydel infrastructures. Since electricity has to be transported and used as it is generated, development of transmission lines must feature prominently. Time has come to expedite hydropower generation as well as build adequate transmission infrastructure.