KATHMANDU: The 40-megawatt Rahughat Hydropower Project has been connected to the national transmission system.
Raghuganga Hydropower Limited, a subsidiary of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), built the project in Raghuganga Rural Municipality, Myagdi. The two units of 20 megawatts each have started generating electricity and have been connected to the national transmission system since Wednesday.
The electricity produced by the project has been fed into the national transmission grid through the Kaligandaki Corridor 220 kV transmission line.
According to the electricity purchase and sale agreement between the project and the NEA, trial production will now be done. After 15 days of testing, it is said that commercial electricity production will start from the project.
NEA Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Raghuganga Hydropower Limited, Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha, said that despite challenges like weak and complex geographical conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and floods, the project was completed through continuous efforts.
He mentioned that since the project can operate at full capacity for four hours daily during the evening when electricity demand is high, the project will make an important contribution to managing electricity demand in the dry season.
The project will generate 247.9 million units of electricity annually. About 34 percent of the total annual energy will be produced by the project during the dry season.
The estimated cost of the project, excluding interest during the construction period, is Rs 9.17 billion. The project is financed through investment from the Government of Nepal and the Nepal Electricity Authority, along with a concessional loan obtained under a line of credit from India’s Exim Bank.
Indian civil contractor company Jaiprakash Associates (JP) signed a contract worth Rs 6 billion. Initial agreement was signed on November 17, 2017, with a 45-month completion target but its time line was extended in February 2022 for the first time and then it was extended in June 2024 as well.
However it could not get materialized the construction in time so the deadline was again extended for the third time in July 2025 targeting the completion by November 27, 2025. Now, it is extended for the fourth time and is near to meeting the completion goals.
