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HYDROPOWER IN NEPAL

Introduction

Nepal land is blessed with enormous amount of Water, sources of which comes from the mighty Himalayan Range. Hydropower is the major source of Electricity in this country. World's 20% of electricity is by Hydropower. In contrary, 96% of electricity in Nepal is by Hydropower - That says a lot of Nature Power of Nepal. Hydropower electricity is environment friendly - no pollution in air or in land, and, is also the most efficient method of all.

Yet, Despite the vast amount of source, not all sources have been used in Nepal. Many small to large scale private-run and Government owned companies operate their hydropower projects throughout Nepal.

Nepal has the capacity to produce upto Eight Five Thousand Megawats of Electricity - 85,000 megawatts. Today, country produces less than 50% of that capacity.

Why Can't Nepal Produce Enough Power ?

Due to lack of electricity, many parts of Nepal share electricity. Ask any Nepali who lives here if they like the word - Load Shedding, a term commonly used in Radio/Tvs and Publications to notify public of schedule of electricity for the comming week. Nepal has extreme land. Transportation for any construction in rural parts of Nepal is a major challenge. Many major hydropower projects require years, if not decades. Nepal realizes the problem and the need to generate electricity quickly. So, small hydropower projects, which can be done by small farmers or a group of villages, are being constructed across Nepal.

Is Nepal all Hydro power?

There are a few diesel power in the country. But many would like to say that Nepal is completely a hydropower nation given the comparison of projects by their capacity. Diesel-power comprises of less than 4% of the total projects and hence often is ignored. Nepal needs to import fuel/diesel from India, since it doesn't have oil. Diesel-power is expensive for this nation also Nepal doesn't need any diesel-powers if it can establish hydropower, for which, locations are in abundant

Hydro power project is a big - it requires lots of manpower and money. Construction of various complex structures, Transportation of building materials, machines are key tasks which require lots of time in planning and operation. Most Government run projects are funded by donations and/or loans from foreign countries. The word Hydropower means Water Powered Electricity; Hydro means Water and Power is the Electricity. The electricity is generated by the currents of waters from rivers in the country. Project also requires great planning for electricity distribution. Of all the projects in Nepal, these are the biggest of all.

Even as we write here, many are currently working, others have completed their projects and many fold projects are proposed everyday!!. By the Year 2001, Number of major hydropower Projects completed is 18 and number of projects proposed is 28. And by the same period, over 45 Small hydropower projects were located throughout the country, providing electricity to otherwise rural areas such Dhading, Dolpa, Helambu.

Hydropower business is a great way for Nepal to progress - It has the potential to uplift poverty, provide electricity to every household and even allow Nepal to sell electricity to other countries. Popularity of Hydropower comes closer to becoming Nepal's third most important business for earning foreign-revenue and every year, lots of foreign companies visit Nepal for project studies.

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