Industry
Nepal's national power utility chief proudly shared a well-lit Kathmandu Valley photo to highlight Nepal's hydropower production.
Kulman Ghising, the Nepal Electricity Authority executive director, recently said he was ready to take charge of the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources. To many Ghising-watchers' surprise, though, he remains the NEA ED, having possibly failed to win an election ticket.
He is not contesting the November 20 polls. Ghising remains in charge of the power utility.
Yet Ghising seems determined to light up Nepal, which, not so long ago, reeled from frequent and extended power outages, known as load-shedding. That has ceased to exist thanks to hydropower generation and projects like Upper Tamakoshi, Mid-Bhotekoshi and Upper Marshyangdi that have added hundreds of megawatts of power to the national grid.
See the photo of a dazzling Kathmandu city shared by Ghising on the cover.
And Kathmandu is not the only city that's dazzling with multi-coloured lights; almost every village and every town across Nepal, blessed with probably the finest weather conditions of the Autumn, is lit up,
Interestingly, the festivities have extended beyond five days this year. While the Tihar celebrations last until Friday, that will be followed by Chhath on Sunday.
The festivities have coincided weeks before the country goes to the general election on November 20 to elect members of the House of Representatives and Provincial Assemblies.
Back to electricity. Nepal's hydropower production hovers around 2,200 megawatts this October, thanks to monsoon-fed rivers. The power production will drop in winter with the expected drop in water levels in the rivers that spin the hydropower turbines.
On Deepawali or Laxmi Pooja night, Nepal consumed nearly 1,800 MW of electricity. Add to that a nearly 400 MW surplus, and the NEA powermeter recorded around 2,200 MW in its grid. Part of it it has been exporting to neighbouring India.
Hydropower is the main source of power in the Himalayan nation. Yet it buys a lot of petroleum products to fuel its automobiles.
However, as the snow-fed rivers discharge less water during winter, Nepal will be forced to buy a couple of hundred megawatts of electricity from India.
See more photos of Kathmandu on the night of Laxmi Pooja on Monday, October 24.
