KATHMANDU, Jan 1: Now the country is to become free from load-shedding. This has become possible after 13 MW of electricity produced by the private sector and 40MW imported from India was added to the national grid from Saturday. According to experts, this is expected to end load-shedding across the nation.
Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Dinesh Kumar Ghimire expressed his hope that the country will become free from load-shedding now. “We have started importing an additional 40 MW of electricity from India since Saturday midnight,” Ghimire said,“Also, 13MW of electricity has been added to the national grid from the Madi hydropower project.”
With the addition of 53 MW of electricity to the national grid, there is no possibility of load-shedding, Ghimire said. “We have already made the Kathmandu Valley a load-shedding free zone,” Ghimire said, “We have launched a campaign to end load-shedding outside the Valley as well.”
Kathmandu Valley to become a load-shedding free zone
He said that only 13 MW of electricity is being produced from the Upper Madi Project which has a total capacity of 25 MW. “Forty MW of electricity has been imported from India this month,” he said, “From next month, an additional 40 MW will be imported from India.”
According to the officials at the Ministry of Energy, despite the import of 40 MW of electricity from India on Saturday, an additional 40 MW of electricity needs to be imported to end load-shedding.
Last week, a team from the energy ministry had gone to India to sign an agreement with Power Trade Corporation, India to import a total of 120 MW through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur Transmission Line from January 1 to May 2017.
He said that load-shedding can’t come to an end unless additional electricity is imported from India.
Now, a total of 350 MW of electricity is being imported from India through the 132 KV transmission line.
