'Power supply in Nepal unreliable, unaffordable'

'Power supply in Nepal unreliable, unaffordable'
TRN, 23-Dec-07

The New Energy Act 2008 is taken as the last option to regulate and solve the power problem in Nepal as it will open space for generation expansion and transmission expansion in our transmission system.

The Integrated Nepal Power System already faces a demand and supply unbalance and the country already faces a capacity deficit round the year.

According to Nepal Electricity Authority, Acting Director for System Operating Department, Sher Singh Bhatt the power supply is not adequate, affordable nor
reliable.

"The power generation and transmission capacities are insufficient, there is energy deficit every six months and some kind of load shedding round the year,? he said.

He stated that most of the power transmission lines were overloaded and were not developed to meet future requirements. They do not have further expansion capacity.

"The execution and expansion of transmissions lines in the past took around ten years. He cited the Butwal case where the new transmission lines had become insufficient with the demand doubling by the time they were completed,? he added.

The 132kV and 66kV lines are the backbone of the Integrated Power System Network in Nepal. The line spread east to west along a trunk line is the segment that still has transmission capacity. But there is insufficient power leading to voltage problems in certain parts like Kathmandu, Hetauda and Birgunj

According to Bhatt this is just a small part of a mammoth problem. "We have power evacuation bottlenecks in our transmission lines and failure in one line trips the entire network which is already overloaded.

The government after 1992 allowed the private sector to build transmission utilities but there has been no coordination between hydropower companies and NEA. "This had led to confusion on the authority and role of NEA and this has aggravated the problem over the years,? Bhatt said.

Hydro Solutions chief technical officer Kumar Pandey at a talk program last week stated that the main problem facing the energy sector was lack of planning and monitoring.

Other countries have National Energy Security plans, but we do not even have a short-term sustenance plan. "Energy supply should be a priority because without it development is not possible,? he said.

Bhatt also seconded the energy security plan of over fifty years to meet the future requirements.

Then there should be a 25-year national energy plan that handles the demand and supply requirements, oversees and plans resource development strategy, import and export of energy, a periodic energy plan which matches today's demand and supply.

He stated that an integrated system has to keep operating for at least the next two or three generations. "There should be space for generation expansion and transmission expansion and they should be planned as to when it may be required.?

Gyanendra Lal Pradhan, chief strategist at Hydro Solutions, said, "The 2008 Regulatory Act will look to overcome the current problem and help plan a long-term strategy that will solve our energy problems after a few years.?

He said it was high time proper future planning in this sector is done because if things continue to be this way then in the next five years the country will have to face 17 hours of power cut. "Think about the effect this will have on our industries,? he added.

"This is not a wait and watch situation, we can only hope the government takes our energy problems seriously”.

“The Act may be our only hope and we have to see to it that it can regulate and help plan a lasting energy solution,” said PP Adhikari, president of Nepal Hydropower Association.