MYAGDI: Tundi Power Company has successfully brought into operation two hydropower projects on the Rahughat river, located within Raghuganga Rural Municipality of Myagdi district.
The two run-of-the-river projects — Chimkhola-Rahughat-Mangale (35.5 MW) and its cascade project, Upper Rahughat Hydropower Project (48.5 MW) — have a combined capacity of 84 megawatts. Both are situated across Wards 4, 7, and 8 of Raghuganga Rural Municipality and are now connected to Nepal’s national grid.
According to Tundi Power Company Manager Pushpa Dangi, commercial production commenced after successful testing. “The Chimkhola-Rahughat-Mangale project began commercial operation in August, while the Upper Rahughat project has also entered the commercial phase,” he said.
Constructed over a span of four years at an estimated cost of Rs 13 billion, the projects can operate at full capacity based on available water resources, Dangi added.
The electricity generated from these projects is currently connected to the national grid via the switchyard of the Rahughat Hydropower Project located in Ward 3, Tilkenichowar, informed Resident Engineer Prakash Timilsina. To facilitate transmission, 39 towers have been erected from Chimkhola to Rahughat.
In the Chimkhola-Rahughat-Mangale project, a dam has been built at Bandi in Ward 8, along with a water retention pond measuring 110 meters in length, 8 meters in height, and 30 meters in width. Water is channeled through a 5.3-kilometer tunnel to a power house in Bagar, Ward 7, using a 950-meter penstock pipeline. The tunnel outlet is located 360 meters above the power house.
The Upper Rahughat Hydropower Project utilizes water discharged from the Chimkhola-Mangale-Rahughat power house along with water from the Bagarkhola River. Its tunnel stretches 4,900 meters, with a 680-meter penstock pipeline leading to the power house at the foot of Dagnam in Ward 4.
The electromechanical works for both projects were undertaken by Everest Hydro, while Machhapuchhre Metal and Machinery handled hydromechanical tasks. The civil construction was executed by Ramechhap Sherpa Construction, with South Asian Infrastructure responsible for tunnel construction.
In addition, the 21.3 MW Thulokhola Hydropower Project, developed by Samyukta Urja Limited, began commercial production in September. An eight-kilometer, 132 kV transmission line connects the Thulokhola powerhouse in Bandi to the Chimkhola-Rahughat-Mangale powerhouse. This infrastructure was built in partnership with the upcoming 22.5 MW Upper Thulokhola Hydropower Project.
Furthermore, a 220 kV transmission line from Chimkhola to Tilkeni has been constructed jointly by the Thulokhola, Upper Thulokhola, Chimkhola-Rahughat-Mangale, and Upper Rahughat projects.
Chairman of Raghuganga Rural Municipality, Bhabha Bahadur Bhandari, shared that two additional hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 63.5 MW are nearing completion in the Rahughat Basin.
These include the 40 MW Rahughat Hydropower Project and the 23.5 MW Upper Thulokhola Project, both of which are expected to be completed within this year.
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