KATHMANDU, July 19: The government has said it is making policy and technical preparations to increase domestic electricity consumption by expanding and upgrading power infrastructure.
According to Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, the government's policy and program, along with the current fiscal year's budget, have given high priority to the expansion and modernization of electricity infrastructure. The main objective is to build the systems needed to support higher electricity consumption.
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The government is focusing on expanding power infrastructure to gradually replace LPG for cooking and encourage greater use of electric vehicles.
An investment of Rs 80 billion has been allocated for electricity infrastructure. Minister Shrestha said the ministry is continuously working to strengthen transmission and distribution networks, increase domestic electricity consumption and promote energy trade.
"People's lifestyles have changed. Industries and businesses have expanded, and the use of electrical appliances has increased across the country. Electricity demand is rising rapidly. We have instructed the Nepal Electricity Authority to modernize aging and low capacity transmission and distribution infrastructure, upgrade transformers and adopt the latest technologies in the transmission system," he said.
Meanwhile, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said it has been investing its own resources to upgrade the country's transmission and distribution systems. It has begun work to complete 12 high priority transmission line projects within the current fiscal year.
By the end of the fiscal year, the total length of transmission lines operating at 66 kV or above is expected to reach 7,848 circuit kilometers.
Nepal's annual per capita electricity consumption currently stands at around 460 kilowatt hours. The government has set a target of increasing it to 1,500 kilowatt hours within the next 10 years.
According to the NEA, the country's current peak electricity demand is 2,319 megawatts. Power plants operated by the NEA, its subsidiaries and the private sector are currently running at full capacity.
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