KATHMANDU, Sept 7: Two hydropower projects on the Rahughat River and its tributaries have begun commercial production, contributing a total of 58.8 MW of electricity to the national grid.
The 37.5 MW Chimkhola-Rahughat-Mangale Hydropower Project, developed by Tundi Power Company, and the 21.3 MW Thulokhola Hydropower Project of Samyukta Urja Limited are now operational. Both projects are located along the Rahughat River and its tributaries in Raghuganga Rural Municipality, Myagdi district. In the same area, three additional projects with a combined capacity of 111 MW are in the final stages of construction.
Prakash Timilsina, an engineer at Tundi Power, said that the electricity generated is temporarily connected to the national grid to prevent wastage, as the Dadakhet-Rahughat transmission line is yet to be completed. The switchyard of the Rahughat Hydropower Project in Tilkenichowar, Raghuganga-3, is also temporarily linked to the national system.
Upper Rahughat construction reaches final stage
An eight-kilometre stretch of the 132 kV transmission line from Bandi to the Chimkhola-Rahughat-Mangale power plant has been constructed in collaboration with the Thulokhola and 22.5 MW Upper Thulokhola Hydropower Projects. Additionally, a 220 kV transmission line from Chimkhola to Tilkeni has been built jointly by the Thulokhola, Upper Thulokhola, Chimkhola-Rahughat-Mangale, and Upper Thulokhola projects.
The projects have been financed by a consortium under Nepal Bank Limited, including Laxmi Sunrise Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank, and Siddhartha Bank, with a total estimated cost of Rs 3.60 billion.
The Thulokhola project generates electricity by channeling water through a 3,382-meter tunnel and a 634-meter penstock pipe. A dam at the border of Kuinemangle and Chimkhola feeds water to a powerhouse in Chhari. Meanwhile, the Chimkhola-Mangale-Rahughat project uses a 950-meter penstock pipeline to carry water from a 5.3 km tunnel in Bandi, Raghuganga-8, to its powerhouse in Bagar, Chimkhola, Raghuganga-7.
The estimated cost of the 48.5 MW Upper Rahughat Hydropower Project, promoted by Tundi Power alongside Chimkhola-Mangale-Rahughat, is Rs 14 billion. Upper Rahughat is now ready for test production. Meanwhile, the 40 MW Rahughat and 22.5 MW Upper Thulokhola Hydropower Projects, promoted by Raghuganga Hydro, a subsidiary of the Nepal Electricity Authority, are also in the final stages of construction.
