The National Transmission Grid Company (NTGC) has projected the need for a total investment of Rs 910 billion by 2040 to build and support the supply system of the 28,500 MW of electricity to be produced by then.

In a master plan prepared by the NTGC, the state-owned company has made revised cost estimation for the installation of the electricity transmission lines within the stipulated time. The NTGC in this regard handed over a draft of the master plan to Energy Minister Deepak Khadka on Wednesday.

Netra Prasad Gyawali, chief executive officer of the NTGC, said they had prepared the master plan based on the ambitious target maintained by the government to produce 28,500 MW of electricity by 2035. “We will give the final shape to the draft based on the inputs of the stakeholders,” he said.

Back in 2018, the NTGC had prepared a master plan for time till the year 2035. In the revised estimate, the company has sought the need of investment worth Rs 720 billion by 2035, while an additional amount of Rs 190 billion in the next five years.

According to the NTGC, the masterplan includes details about the rationale of developing a balanced and effective transmission system and removing duplication of investment and inadequacy of infrastructure to maintain sustainable electricity supply. Likewise, the masterplan has incorporated identifying common transmission corridors and taking it into implementation via formulation of necessary legal framework, while promoting its use also as a connection hub for the private sector.

Nepal has been facing the prospect of significant electricity wastage mainly during the peak electricity production season due to the lack of adequate transmission lines and substations. Over the past two years, 20 projects with a combined capacity of 339.07 MW have been withstanding the problems of electricity wastage. As the government has been promoting electricity production, the problem will be more severe in the future if adequate transmission lines are not developed on time.

Meanwhile, the masterplan also talks about ensuring the availability of transmission lines facility for the private power producers on time and meaningful management of land and forest areas in the alignment of transmission lines. It is expected to remove the problems related to wastage and minimal use of the produced electricity. Moreover, it aims to implement mechanisms to generate investment via government, private sectors or public-private-partnership models.

The records of the Nepal Electricity Authority show that the total length of the transmission lines has reached 6,507 circuit kilometers, more than double of the length in the past eight years. Of these, 1,213 circuit km stretches are of 220 kV and 644 circuit km stretches of 400 kV.

The 400 kV transmission line projects are deemed extremely important for Nepal in order to materialize high levels of benefits out of the electricity exports. While 220 kV single circuits carry 300-400 MW, a transmission line with a capacity of 400 kV or more can carry over 1,200 MW of electricity from one circuit.