Nepal to buy 40 MW electrivity from India

Kathmandu, Feb 12 (UNI) Nepal is preparing to buy 40 megawatts of electricity from India to prevent increased hours of power cut in the country.

The government was at the final stage of homework to buy electricity from India, official media quoted secretary at Ministry of Water Resources, Shankar Koirala, as speaking at the Finance Committee of the interim legislature parliament.

There is more than 36 hours load shedding in Kathmandu and other parts of the country every week.

''Buying electricity from India through diplomatic channel and controlling leakage are Nepal Electricity Authority's other short-term programmes, Executive Director of the Authority, Arjun Karki, said.

Nepal has a demand of about 700 MW electricity but the total generation capacity is only 550 MW which comes down to only about 300 mw during the dry season.

Under the long-term programme, the NEA has presented two schemes including operating the current electricity projects effectively and launching new ones. The plan includes completing middle Marsyangdi within 2009, and Kulekhani third and Chamelia projects within 2012.

The projects in the pipeline include Rahughat, upper Trishuli 3-A, upper Trishuli 3-B, upper Marsyangdi and electricity centers of 40 megawatt capacity to be run by private sector within the next five years. The schemes also include completing upper Tamakoshi and constructing upper Seti electricity center and transmission lines of 220 KV from Trishuli to Kathmandu, Bardaghat Bharatpur-Hetauda-Dhalkebar, Marsyangdi-Kathmandu and 132 KV north south lines within the next six years.

Nepal occupies second position after Brazil in water resources in the world with a capacity of generating 83,000 MW of electricity out of which over 45,000 MW is economically viable.

However, there is load shedding and scarcity of electricity even in the cities and towns.

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