Nepal Electricity Authority has started constructing a 132kV double circuit transmission line in eastern Nepal to connect Koshi and Kabeli corridors of transmission line.

The transmission line, whose power carrying capacity will be at 200MW, will connect the Amarpur substation, Panchthar with the Dhungesanghu substation, Taplejung.

The NEA said in a statement that construction of this transmission line would be crucial to diverting power from one corridor to another if any problem arises in the transmission corridor.

“As this transmission line will connect the two transmission corridors, power can be transmitted to Koshi corridor if electricity transmission is obstructed in the Kabeli corridor for various reasons,” said Anup Gautam, the project chief.

The 132kV Kabeli corridor starts at the Damak substation, Jhapa and is extended to the Amarpur substation, Panchthar. The 220kV Koshi corridor connects the Inaruwa substation, Sunsari and Dhungesanghu substation, Taplejung.

According to the NEA, the Kabeli corridor has already come into operation. The Inaruwa-Basantapur (Sankhuwasbha) is now operational while construction of the Basantapur-Dhungesanghu section is in the final stage of completion, the NEA said.

Several hydropower projects have either been built, are under construction or are planned along these two transmission corridors. But hydropower projects have been victims of flooding and landslides.

For example, flooding in eastern Nepal in July last year damaged the infrastructure of 30 hydropower projects—13 operating and 17 under construction, according to the Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal (IPPAN), a representative body of the private sector power developers.

According to IPPAN, the hydropower projects based in Hewa Khola, Phuwa Khola, Sabha Khola, Ingwa Khola, Kabeli River, Ishuwa Khola and Irkhuwa Khola caused estimated losses of Rs8.5 billion, according to the association.

Gautam said that construction of Amarpur-Dhungesanghu transmission line would ensure the reliability of power supply from the projects developed or to be developed along the watershed of the Kabeli river. This will enhance the credibility of the national transmission grid in eastern Nepal, the NEA said.

Besides the projects to be developed on the Kabeli river and in its watershed, those coming up in the watershed of Tamor River will also benefit from the new transmission line because electricity generated there can be evacuated through the Dhungesanghu substation, according to the NEA.

The contract for the 19 km long Amarpur-Dhungesanghu transmission line was awarded last year. It will have 67 towers and cost an estimated Rs1.2 billion. There will also be an 11kV infrastructure at the Dhungesanghu substation to deliver power to the local people. For this, a separate contract will be awarded in the current fiscal year. The state-owned power monopoly plans to complete the project by the next fiscal year (2024-25), Gautam said.