KATHMANDU, JUNE 14
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the 400-kV Hetauda Substation at a program organized by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) in Hetauda today.
The substation is located at Thana Bharyang of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-11 in Makawanpur district. It is the third largest automatic substation in the country based on Gas Insulated System (GIS) technology and was brought into operation (charged) last Friday.
Additionally, two other substations of 220 kV and 132/11 kV capacity have been constructed at Thana Bharyang by the Nepal-India Electricity Transmission and Trade Project, and they have also been charged since last Friday.
The GIS technology-based automatic Dhalkebar substation is the largest of its kind in the country, while the Inaruwa substation is the second largest, and the Hetauda substation the third largest.
These structures have been constructed to enhance the reliability and quality of the east-west power supply within the country and to facilitate power trade with India.
With the construction of the substation at Hetauda, infrastructure capable of transmitting around 4,000 megawatts of electricity has been prepared.
It is expected that domestic electricity supply will be further strengthened and electricity trade with India will be expanded, as 4,000 megawatts of power can be transmitted east-west from Dhalkebar with the completion of the Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa 400-kV transmission line.
A double-circuit transmission line of 400-kV capacity, to be constructed from Ratmate in Nuwakot through the US assistance Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), will be connected to the Hetauda substation. The required infrastructure has been built at the Hetauda substation for this purpose.
The Hetauda, Dhalkebar, and Inaruwa 400-kV substation expansion project was initiated through the joint investment of the Government of Nepal and NEA under the National Electricity Development Decade program. All three substations under the project have been completed.
The contract agreement for the construction of the 220/132/11-kV Hetauda substation was signed in December 2018.
It was constructed by the Nepal-India Electricity Transmission and Trade Project with investment from the government and NEA, and with a soft loan from the World Bank. The estimated cost of the 400 kV, 220 kV, and 132 kV Hetauda substation is Rs 3 billion.
