The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power corporation, has been shedding load for 29 hours a week in the daytime in the capital of Kathmandu Valley since Tuesday.

An official at the Load Dispatch Center (LDC) of the NEA told reporters Friday that the timing of the load-shedding in the valley will be from 5:30-9:00, 9:00-12:00, 12:00-15:00 and 15:00- 18:30 hours, while there will be no power cuts during the nights until further notice.

According to the LDC, the valley has been divided into groups A, B and C, and power will be cut in those areas through various transmission stations on a rotation basis.

The load-shedding outside the capital, however, will remain at 35 hours a week during the day and night time, the official said on condition of anonymity.

According to the official, most of the power plants in Nepal are based on the "run-of-river" schemes, except for the Kulekhani Reservoir Plant, in the suburb of Kathmandu city, and they fail to produce adequate amount of energy during the dry seasons.

NEA officials blamed less precipitation in the hills and snowfall in the high mountainous areas this dry season for the power cuts.

LDC officials said the total energy, produced from the NEA- owned and privately-run hydel plants as well as diesel-based plants connected with the national power grid, stands at about 200 MW during the dry season.

The total installed capacity of all the plants linked to the national power grid is estimated at 615 MW.

Source: Xinhua