Opinion | Will Nepal’s lights stay on at 7pm in the winter?
Summary
Nepal risks evening power shortages this winter as floods and landslides have damaged major transmission corridors and hydropower plants, while imports from India remain uncertain. The article argues the country must strengthen grid resilience, diversify generation, and publish winter supply forecasts before the seasonal peak.
Key Points
- Landslides and floods damaged key transmission corridors, cutting hundreds of megawatts of hydropower output and forcing the NEA to curtail factory supply.
- The NEA says it can avoid load-shedding this winter by importing power from India, but approval currently does not cover Nepal’s evening peak demand.
- The article warns that Nepal’s power system is vulnerable because generation is concentrated in a few corridors and depends heavily on river flow in the dry season.
- It calls for winter outlook disclosures, better flood-risk screening, more storage projects, and measures to shift demand away from the 7pm peak.
