NEA Announces Load-Shedding in Western Chitwan & Madi Amid Soaring Demand

Bharatpur (Chitwan) – Electricity supply will be disrupted for six hours daily starting today in western Chitwan and Madi areas. The Nepal Electricity Authority’s Chanauli Distribution Center issued a notice on Saturday, announcing a six-hour power outage schedule due to increased demand during the summer.

According to Rajkumar Shrestha, head of the Chanauli Distribution Center, power will be cut off for three hours in the morning and three hours from afternoon to evening. He stated that the power outage schedule was published due to increased load from irrigation customers, as extreme heat and lack of monsoon rain have increased electricity demand.

He mentioned that the 33 kV dog conductor wire from the 132/33 kV substation cannot handle more than 300 amperes of electricity, but the current load exceeds 450 amperes. Hence, load-shedding has been scheduled to manage the distribution.

He added that the current load management issue will be resolved within a week. Electricity supply will be interrupted on the Narayani–Madi, Meghauli–Vijayanagar–Shukranagar, and Jagatpur–Rampur feeders under the Chanauli Distribution Center.

Jitendra Kumar Jha, head of the Nepal Electricity Authority Bagmati Province Division Office, informed that the 33 kV dog conductor wire cannot bear the 450-ampere flow caused by the increase in demand.

He also mentioned that a new 33 kV transmission line from the Baseni substation is under construction as a long-term solution, a project initiated in the previous fiscal year.

According to the schedule:

On the Narayani–Madi feeders, power will be cut from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

On the Meghauli–Vijayanagar–Shukranagar feeders, outages will occur from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

On the Jagatpur–Rampur feeders, electricity will be cut from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM, according to the office.