Power from Chameliya to be test-fed to grid

Kathmandu, Jan. 3:

Chameliya Hydroelectricity Project will begin synchronisation with the national grid from Friday.

It is a test connection to the national grid following internal testing of electricity generation of the 30 MW project, said Ajay Kumar Dahal, chief of the project. 

According to him, there will be a load-rejection test of the turbine for a week to verify and demonstrate the function to withstand load rejection to prevent the turbine from adverse effects due to over speed tripping and no-load operation. 

Currently, one unit, 15 MW, is being tested, and the wet test of the second unit will start from January 10. The first unit will begin regular power generation from the third week of January. 

If all the tests are completed successfully, the project will produce energy to full capacity by the end of January. 

The hydroelectricity project in Darchula district had completed the ‘dry test’ of the first unit in December 2017 and started electricity generation. 

Unlike other run-of-the-river (RoR) hydroelectricity projects, Chameliya has the capacity to produce 30 MW of power for at least six hours a day even during the dry season. 

“It is a peaking RoR project and will generate energy to its full capacity six hours a day – three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening,” said Dahal. 

He said that Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) management has been repeatedly asking the project to conclude the testing at the earliest and feed the electricity to the national grid. 

Chameliya has been delayed by more than six years.

Although the civil works of the project were to have been completed by the end of fiscal year 2016/17, the contractor, China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), had pledged to finish all works by August, six weeks beyond the deadline. 

But the project started electricity generation almost five months after the CGGC’s commitment. 

Chameliya was started in 2007 and was scheduled for completion by 2011, but the deadline of the project was extended thrice in 2013, 2015 and 2016.  The NEA has missed about Rs. 2 billion in revenue due to the project delay.

The hydroelectricity project in Darchula district is jointly funded by the government and South Korea through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund.