MYAGDI: The 220 kV Dana–Khurkot transmission line under the Kaligandaki Corridor, which was damaged by flooding and erosion along the Kaligandaki River, has been repaired, restoring electricity transmission to the national grid.
A temporary tower using Canadian technology has been installed to restore power transmission during the emergency. Damage to three towers of the transmission line in Dowa, Annapurna Rural Municipality–1, and Dhirchyang, Annapurna Rural Municipality–6, in Myagdi district had prevented 176 megawatts of electricity generated by seven hydropower projects in Myagdi and Mustang from being connected to the national grid.
Roshan Khadka, chief of the Nepal Electricity Authority’s Gandaki Province Grid Branch in Pokhara, said the temporary tower was installed to replace the three flood-damaged towers. The transmission line was re-energised at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday after the installation of the wires was completed.
“We succeeded in restoring the transmission line and reconnecting electricity to the national grid within 20 days of the flood damage by mobilising technical personnel from the Nepal Electricity Authority and hydropower projects in the Kaligandaki Basin,” Khadka said. “This has enabled electricity generated by all the projects in the area to be supplied to the national grid.”
Sanjay Lohani, an assistant director of the Authority, said the temporary tower, built using Canadian technology, had been installed as an alternative to the three damaged towers, allowing electricity transmission to resume.
The temporary tower was erected at Aula in Doba, Annapurna Rural Municipality–1, across a steep section of the Beni–Jomsom road.
More than 20 engineers, around 20 technicians and over 50 workers from hydropower projects and relevant divisions in the Kaligandaki Basin have been mobilised over the past 15 days to complete the work.
The Nepal Electricity Authority said the construction of the temporary tower and the restoration of power transmission had been carried out alongside plans to rebuild the damaged permanent towers.
Following the damage to the transmission line, electricity generation from several hydropower projects connected to the national grid through the Dana–Khurkot line had been halted. These included the 5 MW Ghalemdi Khola, 42 MW Mistrikhola, 38 MW Nilgiri-1, 71 MW Nilgiri-2 and 6 MW Rele Khola hydropower projects in Narchyang, Annapurna Rural Municipality–4, Myagdi, as well as the 14 MW Thapakhola Hydropower Project in Tukuche, Mustang.
The affected projects have a combined installed capacity of 176 MW, underscoring the importance of restoring the transmission line to resume the supply of electricity to the national grid.
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