Flood destroys Nuwakot substation, halting power flow from key hydropower plants
A flood swept away the Trishuli-3B Hub substation in Nuwakot, preventing several hydropower projects from delivering electricity to Nepal's grid.
The recent Bhotekoshi flood destroyed the 220 kV Trishuli-3B Hub substation in Nuwakot, severing the transmission link for a cluster of hydropower projects in the Trishuli corridor. Plants such as Salasungi (78 MW), Upper Sanjen (14.8 MW), Sanjen (42.5 MW), Upper Mailung (14.8 MW) and Mailung Khola (5 MW) remain physically intact but are unable to export electricity because the hub that evacuates their output is gone. Additional projects in the Tadi Khola corridor are similarly blocked, leaving a substantial amount of generation offline.
The Nepal Electricity Authority says the loss will complicate grid management during the dry winter season, especially for Kathmandu. Engineers are studying a direct line between the Chilime and Matatirtha substations to bypass the destroyed hub, with a feasibility report expected within six months.
Why it matters
The substation loss cuts off vital hydropower, risking winter electricity shortages in Nepal's capital.
How this story developed
- Aug 28 Nepalese army pulls survivors from flooded hydropower tunnel in Rasuwa
- 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 After more than a week of searching, a 64-year-old woman was rescued from a mud-filled house and a Chinese worker was saved from a deep tunnel, rekindling optimism amid Nepal's deadliest floods in a decade.
- 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.
- Sep 7 Chinese worker Lu Haitao was rescued from a 225‑metre hydropower tunnel and air‑lifted to a hospital.
- Sep 7 The United Nations launched a $50 million appeal to aid flood‑affected residents.
- Sep 9 Two hydropower workers were rescued after being trapped for nine days.
- Sep 14 UN assistant secretary‑general Kanni Wignaraja warned of expanding flood risk across the Himalayas.
In this story
Related stories
46 in this thread