Kathmandu, June 13: The government aims to increase the country’s total installed electricity production capacity to 5,335 megawatts within the upcoming fiscal year.
The annual development programme unveiled by the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation states that the capacity of hydroelectricity generation will be added by 1,040 megawatts by next year.
The Ministry pledges that special efforts will be made to conclude the under-construction projects and those nearing the final phase of completion.
Likewise, the Ministry has set a target of facilitating the construction of projects being developed by the private sector, aiming to conclude within the time.
The expansion of electricity transmission infrastructure has been highly prioritised. As per the annual target, the 66 kV capacity of transmission line has been increased from 7,048 circuit kilometers to 7,808 circuit kilometers.
Furthermore, there is a target to increase the 33 kV transmission line from 8,325 circuit kilometers to 8,429 circuit kilometers.
In the upcoming fiscal year, the government will work for increasing per capita power consumption to 511 kilowatts and reducing the electricity leakage to 12.03 percent.
The annual programmes also include an additional 43 megawatts of electricity generation from small and micro hydropower projects, along with 99 megawatts from solar energy.
The government through the implementation of polices, programmes and budget announced for the upcoming fiscal year aims to reach the irrigation facility to additional 15,766 hectares of land. Likewise, 70 kilometers of embankments will be built along major and medium rivers.
According to the Ministry, the development of hydroelectricity sector is not only a national need, but also serves as a supporting factor to accelerate the economic development, industrialization, food control, environment conservation and employment creation.
In the upcoming fiscal year, the construction of 12 transmission lines will be concluded and the project to build a transmission line passing through a central part of the Kathmandu Valley will be implemented.
