Nepal to face major power shortages due to damaged lines

Sher Singh Bhat of the state-run Nepal Electricity Authority said the utility would be forced to increase power blackouts to consumers this winter. Power outages currently stretch to about five hours a day in Nepal.

Floods in Nepal’s southeast have swept away transmission lines used to import electricity from neighboring India and cannot be repaired by winter, Bhat said.

The level of water in reservoirs used to store runoff during the monsoon is much lower than in previous years, which will reduce power from hydroelectric plants.

The state-run utility company is producing only about half the necessary electricity to satisfy demand at present. Some electricity is imported from India but not enough to meet the shortage.

A decade-long communist insurgency also hampered development work, including the building of new power plants. Although the rebels joined a peace process in 2006 and gave up their armed revolt, political instability has continued.

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