Dharan : Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has inaugurated the Inaruwa substation today. Inaruwa substation is considered one of the important projects for strengthening power transmission and distribution systems.

Constructed at Bhokraha Narsingh rural municipality-4 of Sunsari district, the 400-Kv substation is one of the largest substations constructed in the country.

The country’s second-largest substation based on the Gas Insulated System (GIS) was charged in the second week of October.

Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, former minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, high officials of the Energy Ministry, and Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Kul Man Ghising, among others were present in the inauguration ceremony.

The next substation of 220/132/33 kV has already come into operation in Inaruwa. There are three power transformers of 315-MVA in 400/220 kV Inaruwa substation constructed under the 400-kV Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa substation expansion project. Around 4,000 MW of electricity would be transmitted from the Inaruwa substation after the completion of the 400 kV Inaruwa- Dhalkebar transmission line.

NEA Executive Director Ghising said the Inaruwa substation is the backbone for transmitting electricity produced from hydropower projects at different districts of Koshi Province, for the consumption of power locally and to export surplus electricity to India.

Executive Director Ghising said, “Electricity will be supplied locally in addition to the electricity flow from the sub-station to the national transmission grid. This will improve the voltage in that area thereby ensuring a reliable supply of electricity.” Ghising further said that the Inaruwa-Purnia 400 KV cross-country transmission line has been proposed for power trade with India and the Inaruwa-Anarmani 400 KV transmission line has been proposed for trade between India and Bangladesh from this sub-station.

The Inaruwa sub-station, according to him, has become another huge electricity centre to supply electricity from east to west within the country and export to India besides regional power trade. 

Moreover, the sub-station would significantly supply additional electricity to the industries within the Morang-Sunsari Industrial Corridor. The electricity generated from the Arun and Tamor Rivers and their tributaries would be linked to the Inaruwa Sub-Station through the Koshi Corridor 220 KC transmission line.

It may be noted that there has been a proposal to construct the Arun ‘Hub’ Inaruwa 400 KV transmission line. The Authority said that the Inaruwa Sub-Station has been built in such a way that it can be expanded in future.

Various factors such as inundation, the COVID-19 pandemic, prohibitory orders, and lack of timely availability of tools and technicians, among others, had adversely affected the sub-station construction process.