MYAGDI: The 37.5 MW Chimkhola-Mangale-Rahughat Hydropower Project, constructed in Raghuganga Rural Municipality, has begun trial production.
Promoted by Tudi Power Company Limited, the project has started generating electricity following the successful testing of its major infrastructure, including the dam, water retention pond (descender), and tunnel.
Tudi Power representative Indra Dhakal stated that the electricity will be connected to the central transmission line once the trial phase is successfully completed, which is expected within the next 15 days.
A dam and a water retention pond measuring 110 meters in length, 8 meters in height, and 30 meters in width have been constructed at Bandi in Raghuganga Rural Municipality-8.
According to Resident Engineer Prakash Timilsina, water is transported from the dam through a 5.3-kilometer tunnel to the powerhouse located in Bagar, Chimkhola (Raghuganga-7), via a 950-meter penstock pipeline. The tunnel’s outlet at the powerhouse stands at a height of 360 meters.
The civil construction was carried out by Ramechhap Sherpa and South Asian Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., with the tunnel excavated from four different points.
The hydromechanical and electromechanical works were handled by Machhapuchhre, BMW Nepal Hydromechanical, and Everest Hydro Electromechanical.
A 14-kilometer, 220 kV transmission line has been built from the powerhouse to the switchyard located within the Rahughat Hydropower Project premises in Tilkenichour, Raghuganga-3.
The line includes 49 towers. The electricity generated will be connected to the 220 kV Dana-Kushma transmission line through a ‘loop-in, loop-out’ (LILO) connection.
The Chimkhola-Mangale-Rahughat Hydropower Project is being developed alongside the 48.5 MW Upper Rahughat Hydropower Project, also promoted by Tudi Power, with a combined estimated cost of Rs 14 billion. The Upper Rahughat project is also nearing completion.
Chimkhola-Mangale-Rahughat is the first hydropower project completed in the Rahughat River basin. Other projects nearing completion in the area include the 40 MW Rahughat, 21.3 MW Thulokhola, and 22.3 MW Upper Thulokhola hydropower projects.
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