The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has selected a Chinese contractor to build a 220 kV substation in Barhabise. The planned facility is one of six the state-owned power utility is building to improve power distribution in the Kathmandu Valley and adjoining districts.

The contract, worth $8.79 million and Rs315.38 million, was awarded to a joint venture of Guangxi Transmission and Substation Construction Co and Shenzhen Clou Electronics last December.

According to the project office, the contractor is required to complete construction within two years of the contract between the NEA and the joint venture becomes effective.

“The contract between us will become effective once the joint venture receives an advance payment from the NEA,” said Durga Nanda Badiyar, NEA appointed chief of the substation project. “It will take around one month to complete the process and make the advance payment.”

Once the substation becomes operational, electricity produced by hydropower projects in Sindhupalchok district and nearby areas will be fed into it.

The NEA has already chosen two contractors for the construction of five substations at various locations in the Kathmandu Valley. Pinggao Group Co has been chosen to build 132 kV substations at Mulpani, Phutung and Chapagaon. Likewise, Sinosteel Company has been picked to erect 220 kV substations at Lapsiphedi and Changu Narayan.

The six substations are being constructed as part of the Power Transmission and Distribution Efficiency Enhancement Project being executed by the Nepal government in association with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The new substations, according to the NEA, will significantly increase the load capacity of the electricity distribution system in the Valley and nearby districts.

Apart from building half a dozen new substations, the $180 million project expects to meet the growing energy demand of the Valley and increase the capacity and reliability of distribution networks by undergrounding and automating the networks and using insulated cables for overhead lines.

The NEA has called for tenders for the installation of underground power cables in the northern and central parts of Kathmandu served by its Maharajgunj and Ratna Park distribution centres. The power utility has evaluated the technical proposals of the bidders and forwarded them to the ADB for approval.

The major reason behind removing the existing overhead lines and installing an underground system is to increase the reliability of the distribution system besides increasing the capacity, according to the NEA.

The power utility’s existing distribution system is very weak, which results in sudden power cuts even when there is adequate supply.

The Valley’s existing distribution network can’t support a load of more than 400 MW. The NEA is planning to upgrade it to be able to support up to 2,000 MW.