August 1: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is under pressure to complete the construction of the 220 kV substation which is under construction at Barhabise in Sindhupalchok district.

As the construction of the 102-megawatt Mid Bhotekoshi hydroelectric power plant in Sindhupalchowk under the ownership of Chilime Jaldyut Company has reached its final stage, the authority is under pressure to complete the construction of the substation to which the project will be connected to.

The final phase of construction of the Mid Bhotekoshi will be completed within two months. The electricity generated from Mid Bhotekoshi will be connected to the Barhabise substation through a 220 kV transmission line. The project has already built towers of the transmission line from its power plant to the Barhabise substation, while the wire-pooling work is underway.

The construction of the substation has been delayed due to the poor performance of the joint venture of the Chinese companies Guangxi Transmission and Substation Construction and Shenzhen Claw Electronics, which was awarded the contract for the construction of the Barhabise substation. 

The authority has warned the contractor that if the construction of the substation is not completed and the electricity of Mid Bhotekoshi cannot be connected, they will have to pay compensation.

A high-level team of the authority, including Executive Director Kulman Ghising, Deputy Executive Director of Broadcasting Directorate Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha, and Deputy Executive Director of Project Management Directorate Tara Prasad Pradhan visited the substation construction site on Saturday.

The team discussed with the project management and construction professionals the problems encountered in the construction, the condition of equipment supply, the construction completion schedule, among other issues.

Executive Director Ghising said that the equipment for the substation, including the power transformer, has been brought to the construction site, and there is no reason for delaying the construction.

“We are ready to facilitate the construction, and the construction should be completed within three months anyway. Otherwise, there may be a painful situation where Mid Bhotekoshi's electricity will be wasted, so let's all take this into consideration and work," he said.