KATHMANDU: The government is preparing to change the design and modality of hydropower development in the near future. The government is under discussion to increase the hydroelectricity production by making a loose policy as per the maximum utilization of water resources and the possibility of hydropower development.
Government plans to keep the design open while constructing the hydropower project and not set any conditions or limits on it. It has been seen that it will be easy for the project to produce electricity by utilizing a lot of water, since the conditions and limits are not set while designing the project itself.
Currently, there is a provision to design the Q-40 project at the time of construction. Due to this Q-40 design, large amounts of water are being wasted. According to energy experts, increasing the capacity of the project will result in the lower the cost. If the system of Q-40 is to be removed, it will be done in a way to increase the production while designing the projects.
However, since Nepal’s electricity is being exported to the Indian market, it does not seem to be that difficult.
Earlier, the provision to design the production capacity of peaking run of the river (PRoR) hydropower projects at Q-40 was removed.
The meeting of the board of directors of Nepal Electricity Authority held on June this year removed the provision of Q-40 and provided that the PRoR project should produce 70% of its capacity in rainy season and 30% in dry season. This limit was removed only in case of PRoR projects only. Now, the government has prepared to remove the limit of Q-40 even in the case of the reservoir project.
Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, has already given a signal that the Q-40 design will soon to remove and it will be modified in the near future. According to Bhushal, in a program held in the capital on Sunday, the government has gone in favor of removing the limit of Q related design in view of the impact on the world due to climate change. Keeping this in mind, Bhusal says that the power purchase agreement (PPA) of the project based on run of the river is also ready to be opened.
According to the Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal (IPPAN), it is positive that the government is in favor of removing the Q-40 system. The current system is reducing the production capacity of hydropower projects. As this provision is an obstacle to the maximum utilization of water resources, the government should remove it for all kinds of projects, said Krishna Acharya, president of IPPAN.
According to him, projects are designed between Q-20 and Q25 in India. In Sri Lanka, hydropower projects are designed in Q-20. Bhutan is also designed in Q-20 to Q-25. However, there is a provision of Q-40 in Nepal. This is not practical.