By Our Correspondent,Baitadi, Sept. 30: After the Electricity Distribution Centre, Baitadi, connected electricity to 4,000 new households, 21,300 households now have access to electricity in Baitadi.
There are 45,191 households in six rural municipalities and four municipalities in the district.
The Centre has connected electricity to the 4,000 households of Sunariya Rural Municipality, Dilasaini Rural Municipality, Melauli Municipality, Pancheshwor Rural Municipality and Patan Municipality.
Chief of Electricity Distribution Centre, Baitadi, Pawan Kumar Bhatta, said that the aim was to expand electricity access to 1,000 more households by the upcoming Dashain and Tihar festivals.
In Baitadi, about 23,800 households have not yet received electricity services so far.
Bhatta said that the work of extending electricity is going on in some villages of Pancheshwar, Shivanath Rural Municipality, Sigas Rural Municipality, Purchaudi Municipality and Melauli Municipality.
The electricity reached Baitadi headquarters through the 11 kV transmission line from India in 1985. In 1990, 200 kilowatts of electricity were generated from Surnayagad Small Hydropower of Patan in Baitadi.
The district was connected by a 33 kV national transmission line in 1999.
Currently, 96.5 megawatts of electricity is being generated from Chameliya, the river that flows between Baitadi and Darchula districts.
After the completion of the 40-megawatt Upper Chameliya hydropower project, a total of 96.5 megawatts of electricity has been generated from the Chameliya River.
Of the total 96.5 MW of electricity, 40 MW electricity is being generated from Upper Chameliya, 10 MW from Makari Gad, 8.5 MW from Naugarh Gad and 8 MW from Upper Naugarh Gad.
According to the Centre, the Centre has been coordinating with the local levels to expand the electricity services in those villages which are deprived of the national transmission line.