Kathmandu (RSS) : Dhalkebar substation, known as the largest substation in the country till date, has been charged at no load. The substation with a total capacity of 400 KV has been charged at no load since Wednesday evening.The work of the country’s largest power hub has been completed.
As reported by the Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) the substation is an important cornerstone for Nepal’s power sector. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has succeeded in constructing the first large and gas insulated substation in Nepal.
The project has been completed with the investment of the Government of Nepal, design of NEA engineers and consultation of NEA Engineering Company owned by NEA.NEA’s former executive director Kulman Ghising congratulated the country’s largest substation and said that significant success has been achieved.
According to NEA, the capacity of the substation is 945 MVA. The project has been completed in about two and a half years after starting the bidding process in the fiscal year 2074-75. Although the NEA had set a target to complete the construction last June, the completion of the project has been delayed due to the devastation of Corona.
According to NEA, the completion of the project has been delayed due to the lockdown and restraining order issued by the government to control the risk of Corona. The project was completed even during that period due to ongoing work.The high capacity high voltage testing machine could not be discharged from Kerung for about three months and could not be charged on time. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, took a diplomatic initiative to deliver the equipment to the project site in Kerung.
The construction of Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV inter-country transmission line had already been completed for the exchange of electricity between Nepal and India. Due to the same transmission line, it has become possible to easily import the electricity required by Nepal at any time.NEA says that the new substation can be brought into operation at the capacity of the transmission line after its completion.
A total of 1,200 MW of electricity can be imported and exported from the transmission line and substation. According to Ghising, former executive director of NEA, even though the capacity of the transmission line and substation is equal to 1,200 MW, only 850 MW can be imported and exported for the time being.