Transmission line of the Kushma-New Butwal section inaugurated

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 13:The 220 KV transmission line of the Kushma-New Butwal section under the Kaligandaki Corridor project has been inaugurated. Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet inaugurated the transmission line on Monday.

The 90km transmission stretched from Kushma Municipality-2, Khurkot, in Parbat district, to New Butwal substation located at Suryabasti in Sunwal Municipality-13, Nawalparasi (Bardghat Susta West).

The construction of the section was completed and the transmission line was brought into operation in October this year. The Kaligandaki Corridor 220 kV double circuit transmission line has been constructed to integrate the electricity of the hydropower projects to be built in the Kaligandaki and its tributaries.

Under the Kaligandaki Corridor 220 kV double circuit transmission line project, about 130 km double circuit transmission line has been constructed from Dana substation in Annapurna Rural Municipality-3, Myagdi, district to the New Butwal substation in Nawalparasi (Bardghat Susta West). The transmission line passes through Parbat, Baglung, Syangja, Palpa and Rupandehi districts. The transmission line can supply about 1,200 megawatts of electricity.

At the opening ceremony, Minister Basnet said that the transmission line of Kaligandaki was important for connecting power produced in the west to the east and vice versa and for the cross-border electricity trade.

Stating that within one and a half years, the government is working in such a way that the country does not have to import electricity even during the dry season, Minister Basnet said that they are moving forward with the mandate and direction of generating 28,000 megawatts of electricity by 2035.

He said that the problem of electrification in irrigation would be solved with the integrated and collective efforts of the federal, provincial and local governments.

Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority Kul Man Ghising said that the New Butwal substation was a big pulling hub of electricity for local consumption, east-west power supply and export to India. 

Stating that work was being done to establish transmission lines across the country, Ghising said that Rs. 600-700 billion would be required for this within the next five or six years.

ADB Country Director for Nepal Arnaud Cauchois said that it was commendable that the project had been completed by overcoming the complex legal system of tree cutting and due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stating that the transmission line will contribute to the expansion of Nepal’s green clean energy produced in the Himalayan region to the South Asian region and consumption in the industrial sector, he said that the good practices adopted in the construction of the Kaligandaki Corridor project could be a model for other projects as well.