Energy Minister Khadka’s one year in office: Success in power development expansion including enactment of act, law
लगानी न्यूज
Kathmandu. Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka has initiated policy and legal reforms in the energy, water resources and irrigation sectors within a year of assuming charge of the ministry. Meanwhile, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Bill, Water Resources Bill and Electricity Bill, which have been obstacles in the energy, water resources and irrigation sectors, have been introduced in the parliament.
TAG_OPEN_div_94 The Cabinet has approved the ‘Energy Development Roadmap-2081’ with the government’s larger target of generating 28,500 MW of electricity by 2035. Out of the total electricity generated through the target, 13,500 MW will be consumed domestically and the remaining 15,000 MW will be sold to neighbouring countries like India and Bangladesh.
“More than Rs 6 TAG_OPEN_div_92.5 trillion will be mobilized and millions of youths will get employment in order to meet the target of the road map,” said Minister Khadka.
Similarly, the second amendment to the ‘People’s Hydropower Program’ has been made under the activism of Minister Khadka. TAG_OPEN_div_90 Through this program, an environment has been created for the poor and marginalized sections to invest shares in hydropower on concessional loans, depending on the capacity of the project, from Rs 200,000 to Rs 500,000.
Energy Minister Khadka said that the government has amended the people’s hydropower program to make the poor people prosperous in the TAG_OPEN_div_88. Minister Khadka has made significant progress in the power generation and transmission sector in one year of his tenure.
During this period TAG_OPEN_div_86, 408 MW of electricity has been added to the national transmission line and the total generation capacity has reached 3,565 MW. During the same period, the Department of Power Development has issued survey permission to generate 1,095 MW electricity from 80 hydropower projects and 1,199 MW from 67 solar power stations.
Similarly, 30 hydropower projects with a capacity of 1,242 MW and eight solar power projects with a capacity of about 50 MW have been issued production permits. TAG_OPEN_div_84
Similarly, TAG_OPEN_div_82 the Department of Power Development has granted survey permission to 147 hydropower projects of 8,776 MW capacity and 95 solar projects of 1,851 MW capacity.
Similarly, 264 hydropower 910,750. As many as 264 projects with a capacity of 74 MW and 13 solar projects with a capacity of about 100 MW have been issued production permits. Besides, 170 hydropower projects of 3,330 MW capacity and 19 solar projects of 113 MW capacity are in operation.
Minister Khadka TAG_OPEN_div_78 has completed construction of 300 circuit kilometers of transmission lines and substations of 700 MVA capacity during the one-year tenure of Minister Khadka. So far, around 6,800 circuit kilometers of transmission lines of different capacity and substation projects of 13,754 MVA capacity are in operation.
Survey permits TAG_OPEN_div_76 have been issued for 60 transmission lines (1,031 circuit kilometers) and transmission permits for 26 transmission lines (1,278 circuit kilometers) in a year. Similarly, survey permits have been issued for 144 transmission lines – 3,174 circuit kilometers and transmission permits for 271 transmission lines (5,706 circuit kilometers).
Meanwhile TAG_OPEN_div_74, the dispute of MadhyaBhotekoshi Hydropower Project as well as Dhalkebar Sitamarhi transmission line, which has been in dispute for a long time, has been resolved, while the much-awaited projects including Rasuwagadhi, Sanjen, MadhyaBhotekoshi have come into operation successfully.
Under TAG_OPEN_div_72 the inter-country electricity trade, the export of electricity to India as well as Bangladesh has started through continuous meetings, discussions and diplomatic initiatives with neighboring countries.
Currently TAG_OPEN_div_70, 941 MW of electricity has been approved in India and arrangements have been made to import 1,000 MW of electricity from India. In 2024 alone, electricity worth Rs 17 billion was exported to India. Exports have been increased by reducing the import of electricity on a large scale in the past. In 2024, electricity worth Rs 16.9 billion was imported from India.
This year TAG_OPEN_div_68, 40 MW of electricity has started to be exported to Bangladesh at US dollars. Electricity worth Rs 1.25 billion has been exported to Bangladesh every year during the rainy season from June 15 to November 15. The Chilime-Jilong 220 kV transmission line has been taken forward in collaboration considering the possibility of electricity trade in China.
Similarly, 470 hectares TAG_OPEN_div_66 of land has been protected by constructing about 50 kilometers of embankment. So far, 1,478 kilometers of embankments have been constructed and about 13,672 hectares of land has been protected. Irrigation infrastructure has been developed in 15,000 hectares of land in one year.
Irrigation infrastructure has been developed in 1,584,032 hectares of land across the country so far. TAG_OPEN_div_64 During this period, the government has given high priority to irrigation projects of national pride.
Minister Khadka said TAG_OPEN_div_62 that the projects of national pride including Mahakali, Ranijamara, Babai, Sikta, Bheri-Babai and Sunkoshi-Marine Diversion will expand irrigation facilities to millions of hectares of land and generate hundreds of megawatts of electricity.
Similarly, irrigation facilities are being extended to agricultural land in different parts of the country through Bagmati, Sunsari-Morang, Pragana-Badkapath, Greater Dang Valley, Integrated Karnali and Bheri Corridor Irrigation Projects. TAG_OPEN_div_60 During this period, 570 automated water and weather stations and pictorial forecasting services have been launched.
Ministry has given high priority to the reconstruction of disaster damage. The affected projects including Mathlo Tamakoshi, Melamchi and Khumbu areas, which were damaged due to incessant rainfall across the country from July 10 to July 15 last year, have been brought back into operation.
The government TAG_OPEN_div_56 has been providing access to electricity through alternative energy in villages where the national transmission line has not reached. The Ministry of Energy has expanded 397 kW micro hydropower and 603 kW solar power system in one year. It has installed 3,584 biogas plants, 4,142 domestic solar systems and 320 improved stoves.
During this period, TAG_OPEN_div_54 the government has ensured more than $1 billion in loans÷ grants through foreign cooperation. It has made progress in the construction of water and irrigation standards, water conference projects, river control and management. Minister Khadka said that the government would work with determination to implement the ‘Energy Development Roadmap-2081’ in the coming days.
TAG_OPEN_div_52 The per capita electricity consumption will be increased to 1,500 units while the target set by the Energy Development Roadmap is met and the target is to increase it to 470 units in the next fiscal year.
Investment in smart grid TAG_OPEN_div_50 s, alternative energy, and energy storage systems will expand in the coming year. Butwal-Gorakhpur, Lamki-Bareilly, Inaruwa-Purnea and other inter-country lines will be expedited. In the next fiscal year, 63 kilometers of embankments will be constructed for water resources and irrigation management and 270 hectares of land will be ‘developed’.
The government aim TAG_OPEN_div_48 s to expand irrigation facilities to 9,350 hectares in the next fiscal year. Overall, during this period of formation of the present government, the government has claimed that more work has been done in the field of infrastructure development and expansion with the process of making essential acts and laws in the field of energy, water resources and irrigation.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्