New Butwal substation is becoming a 'Power Pools' for domestic electricity consumption and cross-border trade

Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta West): The much awaited 220 kV Kaligandaki Transmission Line of Kaligandaki Corridor Project was completed last week almost after 10 years since the study and construction. Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet inaugurated this project along with New Butwal substation.

The Kaligandaki Corridor 220 kV double circuit transmission line has been constructed to integrate the electricity generated from of the hydroelectric projects to be built in the Kaligandaki and its tributaries rivers into the national grid. This 130 km-long project starts from Annapurna Rural Municipality-3 Dana substation in Myagdi and passes through Parbat, Baglung, Syangja, Palpa, Rupandehi and reaches New Butwal substation of Nawalparasi (Bardghat Susta West) and has capacity to carry around 1200MW of electricity, according to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
 
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Minister Basnet said the Kaligandaki Corridor is important integrate eastern and western Nepal as well as for cross-border trade. "Within one and half year, there is no need to import electricity even during the dry season and we have moved towards with the long term plan to produce 28,000 MW of electricity by 2035," he said.
 
In the program, MPs of Lumbini Province, Khadga Basnet and Vaijanath Jaisawal, requested to arrange reliable supply of electricity in Nawalparasi, Rupandehi and other districts which have great potential for industrialization. Also, during the construction of the project, they drew the attention of Minister Basnet to implement the agreements done with the locals on time.

Similarly, Arnaud Cauchois, Country Director of Asian Development Bank (ADB), Nepal Resident Mission said that it is commendable that the project has been completed despite the complications of the Covid-19 pandemic and delay in forest clearance. "The transmission line will contribute to export Nepal's green and clean energy to the South Asian region as well as consumption in the industrial sector," he said.

NEA has divided the Kaligandaki corridor transmission line into two sections. Under the first section, a 39 km transmission line was constructed from Dana to Kusma Municipality-2 Khurkot in Parbat. 220/132 kV substations in Khurkot and 220/132/33 kV substations in the same section have been completed and are in operation. Power transformers of 100/100 MVA capacity have been installed in both the substations.

On the other hand, 236 towers have been constructed in the Kusma-New Butwal section. As per the project office the towers have been constructed for four circuit (multi-circuit) lines of 220 kV from Sunwal municipality-13 Badera to New Butwal substation.

According to the NEA, New Butwal 220 kV substation has been constructed for the internal consumption of electricity produced within the country and for the promotion of bilateral and regional electricity trade, domestic transmission and distribution and expansion and strengthening of cross-border transmission systems. Local leaders and industrialists have said that the reliability of the integrated electricity system will increase after the Kaligandaki Corridor comes into operation and the voltage of Nawalparasi, Rupandehi and other areas has improved.

The power of the hydropower projects under construction and to be built in Mustang, Myagdi and other districts will flow through this transmission line to the national grid. The project chief Chandan Kumar Ghosh said that the construction of the Kaligandaki corridor transmission line has been affected due to the delay in the tree cutting permit, the obstruction of the locals, and the Covid-19 pandemic. For the construction of the Kusma-New Butwal section, a contract was signed with the Indian company L&T in November 2017, and it was implemented from January of the same year.

The Kaligandaki Corridor has been constructed with a concessional loan received from the Power System Expansion Project under the South Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) of Government of Nepal, NEA and ADB. The estimated cost is around 11 billion NPR.

After the construction of the line from New Butwal substation to Bardaghat is completed, the 220 kV transmission line will be ready from Hetauda to New Butwal. New Butwal-Bardaghat 21 km transmission line is under construction. Now, the construction of 220 kV transmission line from Hetauda to Bardghat via Bharatpur has been completed, according to NEA. New Butwal-Gorakhpur 400 kV second cross-border transmission line is also under construction for electricity trade with India.

The target is to export the electricity consumed within domestically and to India through the same transmission line. A 400 kV substation will be constructed in Butwal with the grant from Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).