Flood damage forces Nepal's Kulekhani hydro plant into nonstop operation
The Bhotekoshi floods on August 26 knocked out more than 400 MW of capacity, prompting the Nepal Electricity Authority to run the Kulekhani reservoir plant continuously during the monsoon.
The August 26 Bhotekoshi floods crippled more than a dozen hydroelectric facilities, removing over 400 MW from Nepal's power grid. In response, the Nepal Electricity Authority has placed the Kulekhani reservoir scheme on continuous operation, running all three cascade plants 24 hours a day during the peak rainy season. Monitoring shows the Indra Sarobar reservoir losing 20-25 cm daily while inflows add only 15-18 cm, creating a net decline.
Structural constraints from post-earthquake inspections cap the safe water level at 1,527 m, well below the reservoir's maximum of 1,530 m. The plant, originally designed for winter-only use, now faces accelerated depletion of its already reduced storage capacity, which has been eroded by decades of siltation. Engineers caution that the ongoing drawdown could jeopardize water availability for the upcoming winter months.
Why it matters
Continuous operation risks depleting Nepal's key hydro reservoir, threatening power supply during the dry season.
How this story developed
- Aug 28 Nepalese army pulls survivors from flooded hydropower tunnel in Rasuwa
- Aug 31 International rescue teams joined Nepalese forces and fresh flood warnings were issued as river levels rose.
- Aug 31 Drilling and air‑pumping operations at the Trishuli‑3A tunnel have begun to free trapped workers.
- Sep 1 Death toll rose to at least 950 and missing counts climbed to over 4,400, including about 80 Americans and up to 43 Australians.
- Sep 1 An Australian survivor was located, reducing the number of missing Australians to 42.
- Sep 3 Families held symbolic funerals for missing victims.
- Sep 3 The storm made landfall on Fujian’s coast after earlier strikes on Zhejiang, leading to the suspension of dozens of ferry services and the closure of schools in Fuzhou and Quanzhou. Tourist sites such as theme parks in Fuzhou were also temporarily closed. The provincial emergency management authority warned of heavy rain, flash floods and landslides, while nearly a quarter-million residents in high-risk zones had been evacuated the previous week.
- Sep 3 Death toll rose above 1,270 and bodies recovered reached 1,252.
- Sep 3 After a deadly flash flood on the China-Nepal border, Chinese authorities have tightly controlled information, emphasizing rescue efforts over the identities of the dead and missing.
- Sep 5 A Canadian citizen missing after the floods was located safe.
- Sep 5 Authorities suspended 24 passenger ferry routes and closed Fuzhou theme parks.
- Sep 6 Flash floods ripped a three‑storey building in Xianyou County and drones delivered supplies to a flooded school in Wenzhou.
- Sep 6 Officials are pursuing higher‑ground reconstruction of the school with Indian aid.
- Sep 7 Chinese authorities barred foreign journalists from entering the Tibet Autonomous Region.
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