KATHMANDU: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has inaugurated a state-of-the-art, international-level data center in Syuchatar, Kathmandu. This data center, built with an investment of Rs 1.4 billion, is designed to provide future services to commercial companies and includes advanced facilities alongside a load dispatch center.
The three-story building, constructed using prefabricated containers, houses the Kathmandu Valley's underground power distribution and monitoring system, regulation and control, and security operation room on the ground floor. The office and network operation room are on the first floor, and the data center is on the top floor.
The data center complies with Tier 3 international standards. It is the first in Nepal to meet these standards under the Digital NEA Program, aiming to modernize and digitize the authority's service delivery. The data center will store and integrate all IT-related data for the authority. Kulman Ghising, NEA's executive director, announced plans to create a private cloud for data storage and mentioned that the process of building a disaster recovery center at the new Butwal Substation in Sunwal, Nawalparasi, is underway.
Until the disaster recovery center is completed, the existing data center at the NEA headquarters will serve as the recovery center. The new data center features 40 IT racks, including 36 servers and 4 network racks. It meets Tier 3 requirements with N+1 power supply, cooling, automatic fire control, CCTV monitoring, and continuous operations and safety monitoring.
Uninterrupted power supply is ensured with two 1-megawatt generators ready to operate the data center safely in case of local or national power issues. Additionally, two 300 KVA modular UPS units with lithium-ion batteries have been installed for reliability. The center can remain operational during maintenance and equipment replacement.
An optical fiber with an alternative route connects the NEA's head office at Ratna Park to the data center. The connection is established via Teku and Balaju. Staff are deployed to operate the data center 24/7.
Alongside the data center, infrastructure has been developed to monitor, regulate, and control the automated underground distribution system in Kathmandu Valley. Substations and switching stations in the valley will be connected, allowing management, monitoring, and control of the power distribution system below 11 KV. A charging station has also been set up at the data center premises, capable of charging three electric vehicles simultaneously.
A contract for the construction of the center was signed with the Chinese company Yantai Dongfang Wisdom Electric Company Ltd in July 2021, and work commenced in November of the same year. The project was funded by the government, NEA, and a concessional loan from the Asian Development Bank.
