KATHMANDU: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has successfully managed the peak electricity demand during this year’s Laxmi Puja. The national power system recorded a peak demand of 1,813 megawatts at 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, according to the authority.

During this period, the total system peak load stood at 2,400 megawatts, with 587 megawatts of electricity exported to India. There were zero power supply interruptions reported across the system.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Birajbhakta Shrestha, commended the NEA staff, management, and consumers for managing the peak demand despite significant damage to the power system caused by recent natural disasters. Minister Shrestha visited the Load Dispatch Center on Sunday evening to assess the supply and demand situation. He noted that managing the load under such challenging circumstances was a positive achievement.

According to the NEA, the power supply for the festival was sourced from independent power producers (1,536 MW), NEA subsidiary companies (499 MW), run-of-river and semi-reservoir projects (342 MW), and reservoir projects (22.30 MW). The demand was managed even as approximately 450 megawatts of production from the Rasuwa region remained offline due to natural disasters.

The data shows that this year’s peak demand was 68 megawatts higher than the 1,745 megawatts recorded during last year’s Laxmi Puja. Meanwhile, the electricity demand in the Kathmandu Valley reached 489 megawatts, up from 402 megawatts recorded last year. NEA Executive Director Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha stated that technical teams were kept on high alert across the country to ensure uninterrupted power supply, with plans in place to resolve any technical issues within 15 minutes.