Kathmandu, March 27

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power utility, is reducing loadshedding hours to 77 hours per week from Tuesday, considering the board examinations of Grade 10, which is beginning on March 31.

With this reduction in loadshedding hours, the country will face power cuts for around 11 hours per day on average, according to Bhuwan Kumar Chhetri, chief of Load Dispatch Centre at NEA. At present, the country goes without electricity for up to 84 hours per week, or 12 hours per day on average.

Nepal currently generates around 762 megawatts of hydroelectricity, whereas peak demand, this year, stood at over 1,300 MW. Even the power generation capacity of normal times dips during winter because most of the hydro projects are built under run-of-the-river model. Run-of-the-river hydro projects generate electricity whenever there is water in the river. So, as soon as water level dips, electricity production from these projects falls.

To meet the deficit, the country is currently importing around 315 MW of electricity from India.