Syangja, May 25
The 144-MW Kaligandaki A hydropower project has been shut for repair and maintenance.
Sri Ram Raj Pandey, project chief, confirmed that they have closed the project based in Mirmi of Syangja starting Wednesdasy morning for necessary repair work.
According to Pandey, there’s some problem with the pipe supplying water from the tunnel to turbine. For fixing this problem, we have stopped power generation and started repair work, he said, adding: The repair work will take at least a week.
We are working to fix the problem within a week, tentatively, he said, adding: We are aware of problems that will arise due to the project’s closure. He pledged to conduct the repair work as early as possible.
The project was generating 90 MW as of Wednesday morning. Pandey says the entire project has to be shut whenever one or the other unit suffers glitches.
This is the first that the project running for 14 years is undergoing maintenance. Each of the three units of the project generate 48 MW while they are operating in full capacity.
Bhuwan Kumar Khatri, chief of the Nepal Electricity Authority’s Load Dispatch Centre, says they are aware of the impact that the closure of Kaligandaki A will have on power supply. “We will try to minimise power cut,” he says.
We will try not to increase load-shedding hours, he said, acknowledging, though, that they may have to make minor ‘adjustments’.
On an average day, the state-run power monopoly has been enforcing a 10-hour daily load-shedding schedule for some time. With increase in discharge in rivers and streams, it is preparing to bring down power outage hours.
