Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the country’s largest 220 kV Matatirtha substation and the 220 kV Marsyangdi-Kathmandu transmission line amid a function organized in Chandragiri Municipality-8 on Sunday.
According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the substation and transmission line will be crucial in meeting the burgeoning electricity demand in the Kathmandu Valley and evacuating electricity generated in the Marsyangdi River corridor to the Kathmandu Valley.
NEA built the new transmission line as the capacity of the existing 132 kV transmission line was becoming insufficient to handle the increased electricity generation in the corridor. The 83-kilometer transmission line passes through Tanahun, Gorkha, Chitwan, and Dhading before reaching Kathmandu.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Dahal said the new substation and transmission line are crucial infrastructures to enhance domestic consumption and export surplus electricity in line with the encouraging growth in electricity production in recent years.
He also said the government has prioritized the development of projects like Karnali Chisapani and Upper Arun, and reservoir projects like Dudh Koshi to increase generation capacity in the dry months.
NEA has been exporting surplus energy in the dry season to India, while it is forced to import power from India to meet the shortfall in energy production during the dry season.
Also speaking on the occasion, Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Shakti Basnet, said the government is targeting to generate 28,700 MW of electricity within the next 12 years with a plan to export about 50% of the total generation.
