No Electricity Supply from Nepal for 12 Days

Nepal has completely stopped supplying electricity to Bangladesh after floods damaged several hydropower plants in the country. No electricity has arrived in Bangladesh from Nepal for the past 12 days. The information was found on the website of Power Grid Bangladesh PLC on Monday.

Earlier, 38 megawatts of electricity came from Nepal to Bangladesh during the day-peak hours on August 27. However, no electricity was supplied during the evening peak hours that day. Since then, Nepal’s electricity supply to Bangladesh has remained suspended.

Nepalese newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported that Nepal’s electricity exports to Bangladesh through India’s transmission system had been suspended. The situation arose after severe flooding in the Bhotekoshi River area on August 26 damaged several hydropower projects in Nepal, forcing them to shut down.

During the monsoon season, Nepal had been exporting around 1,000 megawatts of electricity on average. Following the floods, the amount has fallen to around 650 megawatts. Two hydropower projects in Nepal that had received approval to supply electricity to Bangladesh were also damaged by the floods. They are the 22.1-megawatt Chilime Hydropower Project and the 24-megawatt Trishuli Hydropower Project. Power generation at both projects has been suspended since last week.

For a long time, Nepal has depended on electricity imports during the dry season. The country is now trying to establish itself as a regional electricity-exporting country. However, the recent floods have caused major disruptions to its power generation and electricity export activities.