Power Cut for 16hrs a day from Sunday in Nepal

Kathmandu (PTI): Nepal will have 16 hours of load shedding a day from Sunday due to the declining water level in its hydro-electric reservoirs and the government is working to import power from India, officials said. "Due to the receding water level in run-off rivers and Kulekhani Reservoir, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is unable to meet the power demand and there is no option but to increase the power outage time," said Sher Singh Bhat, director at NEA. Sixteen hours of load shedding in the country's capital and other parts would begin from Sunday. It will be 25 per cent increase from present 12 hours power cut, NEA officials said. The 70 MW Mid-Marshyangdi hydro-electric project will generate electricity in the next two weeks and the government is working to import 90-MW power from India through Koshi-Kattaiya transmission line by mid February, they added. Nepal's current power generation is around 350 MW, which is far less than the present demand of 800 MW, Bhat said. However, the government has decided to resume regular electricity supply of five days a week to industrial estates including Balaju, Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Butwal, Dharan and Biratnagar. If the country succeeds in importing the 90-MW from India and the Mid-Marshyangdi starts power generation then the duration of load shedding will be substantially reduced by next one and half months, an NEA official said.