POWER CUT TO BE REDUCED TO 12 HOURS FROM SUNDAY
The government is all set to bring down power cuts to 12 hours a day within the next few days, thanks to the continuous 35-MW power supply from the 70-MW Mid Marshyangdi Hydro Electric Project.
The rise in temperatures has also substantially helped decrease demand for electricity, officials said.
Speaking at a meeting of the Protection of National Interest Committee under the Constituent Assembly on Thursday, Uttar Kumar Shrestha, acting managing director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said reconstruction of the destroyed Koshi towers by the third week of February would provide additional 90-MW to the national grid through import from India.
The government decision to cut uninterrupted power supply to VIPs has also saved about 15-MW, he added.
He also claimed that the problem of power outage in the country would be solved in the next five years as six hydropower projects are scheduled to be commissioned by then if everything goes as planned. These include the 457-MW Upper -Tamakoshi, 30-MW Chamelia and 60-MW Kulekhani III among others.
Sher Singh Bhat, chief of Systems Operation and Maintenance Department, NEA, Thursday said, due to the rise in temperatures in recent days, the peak power demand has gone down slightly.
“The days are turning warmer and also lengthening. So, the demand for power for lighting, heating and other purposes decreases and that saves power. Likewise, with warmer temperatures, glacial melt also increases water volume in rivers originating from glaciers.
However, the impact of glacial melt -- rise in river water levels -- is only for a short period. “The water level in rivers that feed our power houses will then go down further,” said Bhat. Meanwhile, maximum daytime temperature is expected to jump further in the coming days, providing relief from outage.
According to Rajendra Prasad Manandhar, senior meteorologist at the Meteorological Forecasting Division, the daily maximum temperature throughout the country has been rising in the past few days and this will continue.
Manandhar said, the winter of 2006 had the longest dry spell so far with no record of rainfall. “Looking at the condition till date, this year's winter is likely to be the second longest dry spell,” he added.
He said, Kathmandu Valley on Wednesday experienced the warmest day this winter. The maximum temperature recorded on that particular day was 25.8 Celsius in the valley, according to MFD. On Thursday, the maximum temperature in the Valley was 23.5 Celsius, while Surkhet recorded 23.8 celsius, which is the maximum temperature recorded in the country on Thursday.
source:ekantipur.com
