Kathmandu, March 7
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has stressed on the need to prioritise increasing the domestic energy usage as well as focusing on selling surplus energy to our neighbouring countries, along with planning to assist the economic development of Nepal instead of just increasing our energy production.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of 86 MW Solu Khola (Dudh Koshi) Hydroelectric Project here today, PM Dahal said that the country can move towards economic development and prosperity by using the available natural resources.
Stating that the country has had significant achievements in terms of energy development since his first tenure as the country's prime minister in 2008, he emphasised on increasing domestic electricity usage and the need to expand electricity trade to generate additional revenue and assist in easing the present and future economic challenges.
Also, stating that the process of economic development cannot move ahead without the cooperation between the private and public sectors, PM Dahal assured that the government would facilitate in identifying the solutions and provide assistance to projects carried out by the private sector.
On the occasion, he also congratulated Sahas Urja Ltd, its board members, investors and stakeholders on the completion of the 86 MW Solu Khola Hydroelectric Project and on the start of commercial production, and added that the construction of such a project has further motivated the public-private cooperation as well as the whole energy sector.
Similarly, Krishna Prasad Acharya, president of Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal, congratulated the Sahas Urja team on the project's completion despite facing many challenges. He also remarked that the contribution of the private sector in the energy sector has further developed the country's energy production capabilities although it was initially seen as a difficult task to construct even 5MW projects.
"We were confused on how to develop such projects in the early stages. Today, we are thinking of further expanding our capacity, which indicates how far we have come. As a sector with investment worth trillions, there is also a need to focus on the development as well as security of the energy sector. As it is considered as a driving tool for the country's economic development and prosperity, we urge the government to support the sector as well as create a one-door policy to ease bureaucratic hurdles as well as to assist in any issues faced during the development of such projects," he said.
Meanwhile, Him Prasad Pathak, chairman of Sahas Urja Ltd, informed that the 86 MW Solu Khola Hydroelectric Project is the largest hydropower project constructed by the private sector and the third-largest in the whole country at present. He shared that the construction of the hydroelectric project was completed on February 10 and has been connected to the national grid followed by a trial production period of one month as per NEA regulations. Pathak further informed that the trial production phase has been completed successfully and the company started commercial production from March 1.
The company has started commercial production by diverting the water from the Solu River through a 7.670-kilometre tunnel to the powerhouse, which is then diverted to the Dudh Koshi River.
The company has also constructed a 12-km-long 132 kilovolt (kVA) double transmission line from the hydropower to the Tingla substation of NEA.
Since the project is based on the run-of-the-river, 86 megawatts of hydroelectricity will be produced in the monsoon season, while about 29 to over 30 megawatts of electricity is being produced at present. About 520 gigawatts will be generated per hour from the project. Furthermore, stating that the goal of prosperous Nepal can be achieved through the development of the country's energy sector, Pathak urged the government to allow the private sector to distribute and conduct energy trade.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 8, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
