Generation Directorate

Generation Directorate, headed by Deputy Managing Director is responsible for construction of new power
projects together with operation and maintenance of NEA owned power stations. The main objective of this
Directorate is construct new projects owned by NEA and smooth operation and maintenance of existing
power plants with optimal use of resources. The Directorate is supported by four departments, namely
Generation Development Department(GDD), Technical Support Department,(TSD) Large Generation
Operation and Maintenance Department(LGO&MD), Medium Generation Operation and Maintenance
Department(MGO&MD) each headed by Director. It is supported by three divisions/sections namely,
Finance, Administration and Monitoring and IT. At present, this Directorate is taking care of construction of
the following four hydropower projects.

1. Kulekhani III Hydroelectric Project(14MW)

2. Chameliya Hydroelectric Project (30MW)
3. Rahughat Hydroelectric Project(40 MW)
4. Upper Trishuli 3'A' Hydroelectric Project(60MW)
Chameliya Hydroelectric Project, Rahughat Hydroelectric Project and Upper Trishuli 3'A' Hydroelectric
Project are headed by respective Project Directors and report to the Deputy Managing Director. Whereas,
Kulekhani III Hydroelectric Project is headed by Project Manager and reports to the Director, GDD. The TSD
provides technical support needed for the ongoing projects and existing power plants on coordination with
respective Directors. LGO&MD is responsible for five (5) hydropower and one (1) thermal plant above
30MW installed capacity owned by NEA. Similarly MGO&MD is responsible for twelve 12 hydropower and
one (1) diesel plant which are below 30MW installed capacity owned by NEA.

Generation Development Department

Generation Development Department has the main objective of performing regular monitoring, inspection and resource
management of under-construction projects of Generation directorate. Presently, it is overseeing the construction of
Kulekhani III hydropower project (14 MW), which is a cascade project of the only storage power plant in Nepal viz.
the Kulekhani hydropower plant. To accomplish this objective, GDD has a mandate to prepare policies and programs,
to ensure the timely completion of under-construction projects, and submit it to the Generation directorate. Also, it
provides necessary instructions to the projects after performing regular monitoring and inspection; submits timely
reports of projects budget and progress to the directorate; performs essential record maintenance of projects resources,
lands and buildings; prepare trimester progress report of the projects and submit it to the Generation directorate.

LARGE GENERATION OPERATION & MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT

The operation and maintenance of five (5) hydropower plants and one (1) Multifuel diesel power plant with capacity
above 30 MW fall under the jurisdiction of this department. The total installed capacity of these plants is 414 MW.
There were no significant forced outages in these hydropower plants in the reporting period. However, electricity
generation from these hydropower plants reduced in comparison to last fiscal year due to decreased river discharge in
Kaligandaki and Marsyangdi rivers throughout the dry season this year and Main Inlet Valve (MIV) modification work
which was initiated from May 23, 2016 at Kaligandaki A hydropower plant. The generation from cascade Kulekhani I
and Kulekhani II plants are mainly intended for meeting peak load demand as per system requirement. The Multifuel
power plant is not in operation since Ashad 2071 due to legal dispute with and distruption of supply of oil from Nepal
Oil Corporation. Total Generation from the hydropower plants under this department in fiscal year 2072/73 is 1.73
TWh.

Medium Generation Operation and Maintenance Department

Medium Generation Operation and Maintenance Department (MGO&MD), headed by a Director, is responsible for the
operation and maintenance of twelve (12) hydropower stations and one (1) diesel power plants with individual installed
capacity below 30MW and owned by NEA with an objective to maximize energy generation by optimally utilizing
generation resources while undertaking rehabilitation, periodic overhauling and maintenance of generating facilities. It
has always strived to uphold economy, operational efficiency and an acceptable level of reliability in its drive for
improvement. The installed capacity of 12 hydropower stations and 1 diesel power plant with installed capacity below
30 MW is 108.39MW. The hydropower generating stations under this department have produced 8.32% of excess
energy compared to that of past year and have achieved about 93.59% of target generation this year. Though the
adverse condition were present, Gandak power station has generated 150% of its set target. Upon the installation and
commissioning of turbocharger in unit no. 7 at Hetauda diesel plant, 14.41 MW installed capacity is in standby
condition. There are five major rehabilitation projects ongoing under this department which are Gandak and Devighat
with Nepal government funding; Chatara with funding from Nepal government and NEA; Sundarijal and Tinau with
loan assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under Energy Access and Efficiency Improvement Project
(EAEIP). Major maintenance works have been carried out for Chatara, Trishuli, Sunkoshi & Panauti hydropower plants
which is still ongoing

Technical Support Department

Technical support department provides the much needed expert advice to the special problems of ongoing and
operational projects of NEA. In the past FY 2072/73, the service provided by this department comprises of
a) Proposal for rehabilitation of Trishuli Devighat Project : The present annual generation of these projects are
about 25% below the rated capacity. Despite undergoing extensive rehabilitation program in 1992/93, the capacity of
desander is not sufficient enough to fully flush out the sediment at the rated discharge of 45.3 m3/s. This has led to
filling of the balancing pond by silt and is rather acting as a reservoir of sand discharge during the dry season. The
resulting erosion has rendered 4 out of 7 turbines of Trishuli to dilapidated condition. This department has hence made
a proposal to build another bay of desander in Trishuli project and remove the debris from the balancing reservoir
without a long shutdown period. The objective of this rehabilitation is to increase the generation by about 65 GWh/year
for these two projects and curtail the cost for turbine maintenance.
b) Provide advisory service to the ongoing problems of Kali Gandaki A: Major issues with the headwork involve
heavy erosion in the first half portion of desander and erosion of the banks. A task for comprising of TSD has been
formed to review and recommend the measures required to mitigate the problems/issues. TSD has actively participated
in the assigned task and working out with other department to remedy the problems at the earliest
c) Framework for operation and maintenance of NEA hydropower projects: TSD has submitted draft report for
enhancing the performance of o/m of NEA hydropower projects. There is a critical need for monitoring of operational
parameters like sediment inflow, slope stabilization, need assessment of equipment procurement and suitable
manpower at site that have a direct impact on generation.
Transmission Directorate

Transmission Directorate is responsible for development, implementation and operation of high voltage
transmission system.

This business group is headed by a Deputy Managing Director and has Grid Operation Department (GOD),
System Operation Department (SOD), Grid Development Department, each headed by a Director. This
business group monitors, operates and constructs transmission lines and substation facilities to evacuate
power generated by both NEA and IPP owned power plants and undertakes reinforcement of the existing
transmission system. Nepals fi rst-ever 400kV Nepal-India cross-border transmission link is completed with
the leading involvement of this business group. Currently this line has been charged at 132kV voltage level
and importing 80MW of power. In order to develop strong Transmission Network the Hetauda-Dhalkebar-
Inaruwa 400kV transmission line, is under construction.

Transmission Directorate has prepared Transmission System Master Plan for 2015 to
2035 upon which NEA intends to develop river basin wise transmission system as a long term strategy for
power development of Nepal.

GRID OPERATION DEPARTMENT

The Grid Operation Department (GOD) has the main responsibility of transmitting reliable and quality power from
distant generators to various load centers. The Department also provides connection facilities to IPPs and Bulk
Consumers at different voltage levels by accomplishing Connection Agreement as per NEA Grid Code.

The other major responsibility of this Department is to look after the operation of 66kV & above Substations and
Transmission Lines along with routine and breakdown maintenance works including up-gradation, extension,
replacement works, reactive compensation, rehabilitation works etc. The three division offi ces in Kathmandu,
Hetauda, Butwal and three branch offices in Duhabi, Pokhara & Attaria are working under GOD for the fulfi llment of
these responsibilities.

System Operation department (SOD)

As in the preceding year, Load Dispatch Centre has been working round the clock to keep the operation of the
Integrated Nepal Power System (INPS) on the right track through the use of computer based Supervisory Control and
Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.
The availability of real time data and better communication system have improved the overall availability of power
stations and transmission lines and has helped towards fast restoration of the power system in case of black-outs,
thereby reducing loss of revenue. The number of complete system collapse has been reduced to 26 as compared to 28 in
the previous year, and the subsequent complete outage time has been reduced to 430 minutes as compared to 1053
minutes (465 minutes during earthquake) in the previous year. The magnitude of load shedding has also been
maintained to maximum 91 hours per week despite the unavailability of some power stations due to various reasons
(Approximately about 57 MW of generation deficit). Constant monitoring of trading power from India through
Dhalkebar-Mujjaffpur Transmission line (400kV line presently operated at 132 kV voltages since 17th Feb 2016) and
better management of imported power by LDC contributed significantly to minimize Load Shedding hours.
 Grid Development Department

Brief summary of projects under different stages of development are presented below:
Recently Completed Projects
1. Butwal Kohalpur 132kV Transmission Line 2nd Circuit
2. Chapali 132kV Substation
3. First Section Illam-Damak 132kV Transmission Line from Kabeli Corridor

Distribution Directorate

NEA board made decision to change the various business groups of NEA in to Directorates, as per which
the Distribution and Consumer Services (DCS) Business Group was also changed to DCS Directorate
(DCSD). DCSD is responsible for overall management of electricity distribution services and networks of
NEA. The major activities of this directorate include planning, expansion, operation, maintenance and
rehabilitation of the electricity distribution networks including substations up to 33 kV voltage level and
consumer services activities such as new consumer connections, meter reading, billing, and revenue
collection. The directorate has lately introduced some of the smart meter reading and billing techniques as a
pilot projects in the Kathmandu valley with plans to introduce even better techniques and expand them in the
entire areas. The operation and maintenance of off grid small hydro power plants in its area, also falls under
the jurisdiction of this directorate. There are Planning and Technical
Services Department (PTSD) and Community Rural Electrifi cation Department (CRED) at the central level
and eight regional offi ces to manage the overall distribution and consumer services activities in more
effective and effi cient manner under this directorate.
Under the directorate, PTSD & CRED at the centre and eight regional offi ces are headed by the
Directors/chiefs.

DCSD is the largest directorate of NEA in terms of number of employees and business activities.
Approximately 67% of the total staff of NEA is employed in DCSD. This is also on the forefront to earn
revenue for sustaining operation, maintenance and development activities of NEA. DCSD is providing
services to consumers through its 109 Distribution Centers spread over the whole country.

Planning and Technical Services Department

The Planning and Technical Services Department (PTSD) is responsible for planning and preparation of distribution
system expansion programs and supporting DCSD in the technical and commercial matters. Major works under this
department
include-
o Identification of potential rural electrification and substation rehabilitation projects and implement them
o Programming/re-programming, data download and analysis of TOD energy meters & metering equipments
o Monitoring and evaluation of region wise monthly distribution system losses. Assist to identify and implement
programs for loss reduction in distribution systems
o Initiate modern facilities for the electricity consumers in the field of meter reading, billing and revenue collection
o Plans to execute distribution planning incorporating demand side management and loss reduction as an integral part of
it
COMMUNITY RURAL ELECTRIFICATION DEPARTMENT

In order to expand the access of electricity services to the rural areas on the demand driven approach, the Government
of Nepal (GoN) has brought forward Community Rural Electrifi cation Program (CREP) since 2003 which is being
executed. NEA had established a separate Department COMMUNITY RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
DEPARTMENT (CRED) to efficiently conduct the Community Rural Electrifi cation Program of GoN in 2003. Later
on in 2010, CRED was dissolved in the process of restructuring of NEA and the activities of CREP were carried out
through eight Regional Offi ces. However, the CREP activities were slowed down due to lack of coordination at center
and regional level. On this background, CRED has been formed again in July 2013.
Under CREP, the GoN is contributing 90 % of the rural electrifi cation Cost through NEA and the Rural Electric
Community (REC) is required to contribute remaining 10 % of the cost. NEA sells bulk power to the RECs and RECs
are responsible for operation and management of electricity distribution within the area. NEA provides services up to
11 kV Line and the REC itself is responsible for 400/230 Volt Line. NEA, Community Rural Electrifi cation By-Law
2071 governs the activities of NEA, REC and CREP.

POWER SECTOR REFORM

The objectives of the Power Sector Reform and Sustainable Hydropower Development Project for Nepal are to:
(a) strengthen the capacity of the power sector agencies to plan and prepare hydropower and transmission line
projects following international standards and best practices; and (b) improve the readiness of the power sector
agencies for regulatory and institutional reforms. There are three components to the project, the first
component being Preparation of Hydropower and Transmission Line Investment Projects. It will support
preparation of two hydroposer projects, Upper Arun Hydropower Project (UAHEP) (335 MW) and Ikhuwa Khola
Hydropower Project (IKHP) (30 MW), as proposed by the GoN, and priority high voltage transmission line
projects to be identified by the on-going Transmission System Master Planning supported under the on-going
Nepal India Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (NIETTP), in line with international standards and the
Banks safeguard policies. The second component is the studies and preparation for policy recommendations
and sector reform. It will address critical power sector issues. It will support preparation, prioritization, and
sequencing of recommendations for policy and reform actions, and build consensus and capacity. Finally, the
third component is the capacity building for safeguard management and hydropower development. It will
support improvement of the environmental and social safeguard management system in Nepal and associated
capacity building. It will support the following activities: conducting a Strategic Environmental and Social
Assessment (SESA) as part of the integrated river basin planning under component B; preparing
recommendations for environmental and social guidelines for hydropower development; safeguard capacity
building for management of transmission line RoW issues; and project management.

LOAD FACTOR:
It can be derived from the load profile of the specific device or system of devices. Its value is always less
than one because maximum demand is always higher than average demand, since facilities likely never
operate at full capacity for the duration of an entire 24-hour day. A high load factor means power usage is
relatively constant. Low load factor shows that occasionally a high demand is set. To service that peak,
capacity is sitting idle for long periods, thereby imposing higher costs on the system. Electrical rates are
designed so that customers with high load factor are charged less overall per kWh. This process along with
others is called load balancing or peak shaving.
Higher the load factor is GOOD and it will more Output of Plan, lesser the cost per unit which means an electricity
generator can sell more electricity at a higher spark spread, Fixed costs are spread over more kWh of output. A power
plant may be highly efficient at High load factors.
Low load factor is a BED. A low load factor will use electricity inefficiently relative to what we could be if we were
controlling our peak demand. A power plant may be less efficient at low load factors.
 For almost constant loads, the load factor is close to unity.
For Varying Load Factor is closed Zero.
Load Factor is a measure of the effective utilization of the load and distribution equipment, i.e. higher load factor means
better utilization of the transformer, line or cable.
A high load factor means power usage is relatively constant. Low load factor shows that occasionally a high demand is set.
To service that peak, capacity is sitting idle for long periods, thereby imposing higher costs on the system. Electrical rates
are designed so that customers with high load factor are charged less overall per kWh.
Sometimes utility companies will encourage industrial customers to improve their load factors.
Load factor is term that does not appear on your utility bill, but does affect electricity costs. Load factor indicates
how efficiently the customer is using peak demand.

DIVERSITY FACTOR:
Diversity occurs in an operating system because all loads connected to the System are not operating simultaneously or are
not simultaneously operating at their maximum rating. The diversity factor shows that the whole electrical load does not
equal the sum of its parts due to this time Interdependence (i.e. diverseness).
In general terms we can say that diversity factor refers to the percent of time available that a machine. 70% diversity
means that the device operates at its nominal or maximum load level 70% of the time that it is connected and turned ON.
Consider two Feeders with the same maximum demand but that occur at different intervals of time. When supplied by the
same feeder, the demand on such is less the sum of the two demands. In electrical design, this condition is known as
diversity.
Diversity factor is an extended version of demand factor. It deals with maximum demand of different units at a
time/Maximum demand of the entire system.
Greater the diversity factor, lesser is the cost of generation of power.
Many designers prefer to use unity as the diversity factor in calculations for planning conservatism because of plant load
growth uncertainties. Local experience can justify using a diversity factor larger than unity, and smaller service entrance
conductors and transformer requirements chosen accordingly.
The diversity factor for all other installations will be different, and would be based upon a local evaluation of the loads to be
applied at different moments in time. Assuming it to be 1.0 may, on some occasions, result in a supply feeder and
equipment rating that is rather larger than the local installation warrants, and an over-investment in cable and equipment to
handle the rated load current. It is better to evaluate the pattern of usage of the loads and calculate an acceptable diversity
factor for each particular case

Diversity factor is mostly used for distribution feeder size and transformer as well as to determine the maximum peak
load and diversity factor is always based on knowing the process. You have to understand what will be on or off at a
given time for different buildings and this will size the feeder. Note for typical buildings diversity factor is always one.
You have to estimate or have a data records to create 24 hours load graph and you can determine the maximum
demand load for node then you can easily determine the feeder and transformer size.
The diversity factor of a feeder would be the sum of the maximum demands of the individual consumers divided by
the maximum demand of the feeder. In the same manner, it is possible to compute the diversity factor on a
substation, a transmission line or a whole utility system.
The residential load has the highest diversity factor. Industrial loads have low diversity factors usually of 1.4, street
light practically unity and other loads vary between these limits.

VOLATAGE REGULATION OF TRANSFORMER:

When a transformer is loaded with a constant primary voltage, the secondary voltage decreases (for lagging
power factor) because of its internal resistance and leakage reactance. The way in which the secondary terminal
voltage varies with the load depends on the load current. The internal impedance and the load power factor.
The change in secondary terminal voltage from no-load to full-load at any particular load is termed as the
inherent regulation. It is usually expressed as a percentage or a fraction of the rated no-load terminal voltage.
When the power factor is leading, the percentage regulation is given by

Voltage regulation of a transformer, on an average, is about 4 percent.

Condition for zero regulation

Regulation will be zero if the numerator will be equal to zero.

Condition for maximum regulation:

i.e maximum regulation occurs at lagging power factor.

2 Transformer Overloading and Limitations
In the power systems, transformers may be occasionally loaded above their name plate ratings in a response to
emergency or contingency conditions. The overloading may also occur because of economic considerations. It is
no need to install extra transformer utilizing the overloading capability of the existing transformer. However,
there are risks and consequences when the power transformer is overloaded beyond its rated nameplate which
can lead to failures. The failures can be both short-term failures or/and long-term failures. The accelerated aging
is one of the main consequences of overloading power transformers. In addition, there are temperature and
load limitations presented in this chapter in order to operate transformer in a safe condition.
2.1 Types of loading
Load conditions of transformers can be classified into four types [1], [2], which are
described in the following sections.
2.1.1 Normal life expectancy loading
Normal life expectancy occurs when the power transformer is operated with continuous hot-spot temperature
of 98 for non-thermally upgraded paper and 110 for thermally upgraded paper. However, it is permissible
to operate the transformer over this temperature for a short time during a period of time, providing that the
transformer has operated for a long time under this temperature [1].
The exact end of life of transformers are unknown, however according to IEC [2] there are different predictions
for insulation life depending on mechanical properties such as, Retained Tensile Strength and/or retained
Degree of Polymerization. For a 200 retained degree of polymerization in insulation and at the reference
temperature of 110 the normal insulation life can be 17.12 years considering thermally upgraded insulation.
2.1.2 Planned overloading
This type of loading occurs when the utility operator plan to overload the transformer during specific time that is
more typical in utility operation. The hot-spot temperature may rise to 120-130 during this type of loading.
No-system outage, planned repetitive Loads and shorter life expectancy are the characteristics of this type of
loading [1]. For this loading type, calculations can be made to define the time period in which the
acceptable loss of life can be achieved.
2.1.3 Long-time overloading
In this type of overloading, the transformer is operated beyond its nameplate rating for a long time, from several
hours to several months, carrying emergency loads. It might occur one or two times during the normal life of the
transformer. Long-time overloading occurs because of an outage in a power system or contingencies on the
transmission system. However, the risk of failure is greater than the planned overloading and the hot spot
temperature can rise to 120C -140C under operation [1]. For this loading type calculations can be made, in
order to evaluate the acceptable loss of insulation life during a specific load cycle.
2.1.4 Short-time overloading
Short-time overloading is heavy loading of a transformer during a short time that causes the temperature to
increase rapidly and exceed the limits defined by the name-plate ratings. In this type of loading, the hot-spot
temperature may rise to 180C for a short time period [1] with severe loss of insulation life. The main
characteristics of this type of loading are [1]:
Highly unlikely operation conditions on the transmission system.
It is expected to occur one or two times over the normal life of a transformer
and it usually last for a short-time (less than half an hour) [1], [14].
The risk of failure even is greater than long time overloading, due to the bubble
and gas formation in the oil.
Overloading transformers for a short-time may be acceptable when there is an outage or loss of power supply in
the system. According to the IEC standard [2], the acceptable time duration of this type of load is less than the
thermal time constant of the transformer and depends on the operation temperature before increasing the
loads, typically half an hour. To avoid any failure, either this type of loading should be decreased or the
transformer should be disconnected within that time [2]. Historically, many users have relied on the short-time
overloading capacity of transformers during emergency conditions in the system. In the economical point of
view and during particular conditions it may be necessary to use up to 50% or even more of the corresponding
transformer lifespan to prevent a serious shutdown [13]. However, to perform heavy overloading of
transformers, reliable information is required to predict the hot-spot temperatures and loss of insulation life.
The methods with are used to perform these predictions are presented and discussed in chapter
three. Furthermore, the risks have to be considered when using the short-time overloading capacity of
transformers. Some of these risks are stated in the next section.

Nepal's hydropower history is over a century old. However, Nepal is yet to

able to generate more than 706 MW of power. Some 35 percent people, who
are receiving power from the national grid, are facing uncertain hours of
power cuts. However, only seven percent of the population gets the power
from alternative energy sources, including solar, micro-hydro and others.
There is no access to power for the 58 percent of population.

Nepal Electricity Authority is the sole institution responsible for

construction, generation, transmission and distribution of power; it is also
given the authority to construct the east-west transmission lines. However,
the present state of NEA is that it is unable to complete its task. NEA has
the monopoly in electricity. It is said that there is less possibility to see the
loss in a company having monopoly over the electricity trade. However, in
the context of NEA it proves wrong. NEA has monopoly over the
transmission line. Due to its service oriented nature, NEA is compelled to
sell the electricity for which it pays a much higher price. NEA is now busy to
construct 592 MW project, including 456 MW Tamakosi. Due to the
political instability and India's apathy, Nepal's power sector has been
passing through a critical stage. Although electricity is one of the necessary
ingredients for the overall development of the country, the state,
government and NEA have rarely shown any interest in the transmission
lines. Over the period of 100 years, Nepal has built just 981 kilometers
circuit of transmission lines. If Nepal's economy, had a capacity to absorb
11500 MW (peak hour), it would have required 845 KM long 400 KV lines,
the total cost for which would have been Rs. 41 billion and for 612 north
south 400 kv would require Rs. 33 billion, according to the Twenty Years
Power Generation Report. If Nepal builds this transmission line, there will
be a rush of investors to invest in Nepal. In case, India agrees, even Nepal
will be able to export its power to Bangladesh.

NEA is planning to expand its transmission line to 3272 kilometers or

circuit. This includes 78 kilometers of 33 kV, 1409 kilometers of 132 kV, 755
km of 200 kV and 1030 kilometer of 400 kv in the coming ten years. The
cost of the projects will be 1.27 billion dollars. Out of this, NEA has just 18
percent of the amount. Donor countries, including the Asian Development
Bank and the World Bank, have expressed their commitment to arrange
necessary funds for the project. It is yet to see how NEA and the
government will arrange the funds. NEA estimates that it will require 825
technicians for the project. However, it has just over 84 technical staffs
under Grid Development Department. Once Nepal completes the project,
Nepal will see a relief from load shedding.

The corridor transmission line projects include Kabeli Damak 132, Kosi
corridor (Bashantapur-Kusha) 220 kv, Katari-Okhaldhunga, Solu, Singati-
Lamosanghu,Sunkosi-Dolkha,Ramecchap Garjyan-Khimti, Middle
Marsyangdi-Manang, Kaligandaki 220 KV, Katari-Okhaldhunga-Solu,
Singati-Lamosanghu, Sunkosi-Dolkha, Ramecchap-Garjyan-Khimit, Middle
Marsyangdi-Manang, Karnali Corridor (Lamki-Upper Karnali)132 kv.
Under the absorption project are Thanko-Chapagaun-Bhaktapur, 132 kv,
Syangja132 substation, Kamane Substation, Kushum-Hapure 132 kv
transmission line, Butwal-Kohalpur, Chapali 132, Matatirtha 132 kv station.
Similarly, the primary phase of project include Bajhang-Dipayal-Attariya
Transmission line, Hapure-Tulsipur Transmission line Surkhet-Dailekh-
Jumla Transmission like, Kaligandai-Gulmi (Jhimruk)132 kv Transmission
line, Hetauda Butwal 400 KV Transmission line, Butwal-Lamki 400 kv
Transmission line and Lamki-Mahendranagar 400 kv Transmission line.
Without construction of transmission lines, one cannot expect any private
investment and even NEA cannot build any project. For instance, a total
project cost includes the road construction and transmission line. The
government has no plan to construct the transmission line in the attractive
power generation sites like roads. If there are sites with cheap power
generation, the government should construct the transmission line. The
government has already issued the license to public and private sector with
promises for over 17,000 MW. However, there is no transmission line in
most of the areas.

Interestingly, NEA is signing PPA with private party without transmission

line. Although there is a provision now for the connection agreement
following signing PPA, NEA does not show any hesitation to sign the
agreement because it does have to pay just 5 percent of compensation in
case it fails to construct the transmission line at the time of generation. No
sane investor can go to invest money looking at 5 percent compensation for
the investment of billion of rupees. The enthusiastic private sector initially
took this new provision as a victor. But, they realized later that NEA cheated
them.

Currently, all PPA is signed by showing the Project not whether it will be
implemented or not. Even some companies signed agreement just to sell the
license. For example, NEA has been signing PPA with various companies in
Kosi corridor showing the construction of 220 kv Duhabi Transmission line.
Interestingly, banks are showing hesitation to sign financial closure with
companies having PPA due to uncertainty over the construction of
transmission line. It is unfortunate that PPA is signed without transmission
line. Although the NEA failed to complete the transmission line even in 10
years but Ministry of Energy has been cancelling the license of generation in
five years.

There are so many good examples how private investment is at stakes due to
lack of commitment on the construction of transmission line. As the
construction of the 10 MW Spring River Hydropower project has completed
last year, it failed to evacuate its energy to national grid due to lack of
transmission line. The Ministry of Finance, Energy and NEA agreed to
complete the construction of the 40 km long 132 kv Singati-Lamosanghu
Transmission line by 2008. After nearly three years of delay, it is not under
construction. In case of any delay in the construction, the investors will
have to go bankrupt, even the investment of private sector is under threat.
Similar situation is with other private investors who have already invested
money on the assurance that the government will construct the
transmission line. NEA has already ruined hundreds of investors.
Construction of transmission line is matter of major debate and
controversy. Even the government agrees to construct the transmission line;
it has to face several hurdles at the implementation stage from the people.
For instance, the second circuit of Heatuda Dhalkebar 132 KV Transmission
line took a decade to complete. Thankot, Chapagaun and Bhaktapur (132
kv) Transmission line project was canceled due to opposition from people.
Land acquisition is one of the major challenges for the construction of
transmission lines. The present power crisis is the result of the apathy of
government and NEA's incapability to invest money in the Transmission
Line. In the last one decade, Nepal has just waited for foreign aid for the
transmission lines. Nepal-India Transmission line has another painful story
to tell. Whether to import power from India or to export, Nepal needs grid
connection with India. With the fund available from the World Bank, Nepal-
India agreed to complete the Dhalkebar-Mujafarpur 400 kv transmission
line by 2014. However, no progress has been made yet on the project.

The dream to end the immediate load shedding of Nepal by importing

electricity through this grid seems to be just a dream. Showing this
agreement, India has already secured the license of two economically very
much viable projects, Arun III and Upper Karnali. As long as Nepal does not
have the grid connection to India, it is impossible to lure private sector in
export oriented projects. A similar situation is with the domestic
investment.
 Methods of Voltage Control in Power System
The voltage of the power system may vary with the change in load. The voltage is normally high at light
load and low at the heavy-load condition. For keeping the voltage of the system in limits, some
additional equipment requires which increase the system voltage when it is low and reduces the voltage
when it is too high. The following are the methods used in the power system for controlling the voltage.

1. On Load Tap Changing Transformer

2. Off Load Tap Changing transformer
3. Shunt Reactors
4. Synchronous Phase Modifiers
5. Shunt Capacitor
6. Static VAR System (SVS)

Controlling the system voltage by the help of shunt inductive element is known as shunt compensation.
The shunt compensation is of two types, i.e., the static shunt compensation and the synchronous
compensation. In static shunt compensation, the shunt reactor, shunt capacitor and static VAR system
are used, whereas the shunt compensation uses the synchronous phase modifier. The methods used for
controlling the voltage are explained below in details.

1. Off Load Tap Changing Transformer In this method, the voltage is controlled by changing the
turn ratio of the transformer. The transformer is disconnected from the supply before changing the tap.
The tap changing of the transformer mostly done manually.

2. On Load Tap Changing Transformer This arrangement is used for changing the turn ratio of
the transformer for regulating the system voltage when the transformer delivers the load. Most of the
power transformer is provided with on-load tap changer.

3. Shunt Reactor The shunt reactor is the inductive current element which is connected between the
line and neutral. The shunt reactor compensates the inductive current from the transmission line or
underground cables. It is mainly used in the long distance EHV and UHV transmission lines for reactive
power control.

The shunt reactors are used in the sending end substation, receiving end substation and in the
intermediate substation of long EHV and UHV line. In the long transmission line, the shunt reactor is
connected at the distance of 300 Km to limit the voltage at an intermediate point.

4. Shunt Capacitors The shunt capacitors are the capacitors connected in parallel with the line. It is
installed at the receiving end substation, distribution substations and in the switching substations. The
shunt capacitor injected the reactive volt-ampere to the line. It is placed in the three phase bank.

5. Synchronous Phase Modifier The synchronous phase modifier is the synchronous motor running
without a mechanical load. It is connected with the load at receiving the end of the line. The
synchronous phase modifier absorbs or generates the reactive power by varying the excitation of the
field winding. It keeps the voltage constant at any condition of the load and also improves the power
factor.

6. Series Var Systems (SVS) The static VAR compensator inject or absorb the inductive VAR to the
system when the voltage becomes higher or lower than the reference value. In static VAR compensator,
the thyristor is used as switching device in place of circuit breakers. Nowadays, the thyristor switching is
used in the system in place of mechanical switching because thyristor switching is faster and provides
transient free operation by controlling the switching.

Smart meters[edit]
Main article: Smart meter
Smart meters go a step further than simple AMR (automatic meter reading). They offer additional
functionality including a real-time or near real-time reads, power outage notification, and power quality
monitoring. They allow price setting agencies to introduce different prices for consumption based on the time
of day and the season.
Another type of smart meter uses nonintrusive load monitoring to automatically determine the number and
type of appliances in a residence, how much energy each uses and when. This meter is used by electric
utilities to do surveys of energy use. It eliminates the need to put timers on all of the appliances in a house to
determine how much energy each uses.

Prepayment meters
The standard business model of electricity retailing involves the electricity company billing the customer for
the amount of energy used in the previous month or quarter. In some countries, if the retailer believes that
the customer may not pay the bill, a prepayment meter may be installed. This requires the customer to make
advance payment before electricity can be used.[citation needed]If the available credit is exhausted then the supply
of electricity is cut off by a relay.

Time of day metering[edit]

Time of Day metering (TOD), also known as Time of Usage (TOU) or Seasonal Time of Day (SToD),
metering involves dividing the day, month and year into tariff slots and with higher rates at peak load periods
and low tariff rates at off-peak load periods. While this can be used to automatically control usage on the
part of the customer (resulting in automatic load control), it is often simply the customer's responsibility to
control his own usage, or pay accordingly (voluntary load control). This also allows the utilities to plan their
transmission infrastructure appropriately. See also Demand-side Management (DSM).
TOD metering normally splits rates into an arrangement of multiple segments including on-peak, off-peak,
mid-peak or shoulder, and critical peak. A typical arrangement is a peak occurring during the day (non-
holiday days only), such as from 1 pm to 9 pm Monday through Friday during the summer and from 6:30 am
to 12 noon and 5 pm to 9 pm during the winter. More complex arrangements include the use of critical peaks
which occur during high demand periods. The times of peak demand/cost will vary in different markets
around the world

Power export metering[edit]

See also: Net metering
Many electricity customers are installing their own electricity generating equipment, whether for reasons of
economy, redundancy or environmental reasons. When a customer is generating more electricity than
required for his own use, the surplus may be exported back to the power grid. Customers that generate back
into the "grid" usually must have special equipment and safety devices to protect the grid components (as
well as the customer's own) in case of faults (electrical short circuits) or maintenance of the grid (say voltage
on a downed line coming from an exporting customers facility).
This exported energy may be accounted for in the simplest case by the meter running backwards during
periods of net export, thus reducing the customer's recorded energy usage by the amount exported. This in
effect results in the customer being paid for his/her exports at the full retail price of electricity. Unless
equipped with a ratchet or equivalent, a standard meter will accurately record power flow in each direction
by simply running backwards when power is exported. Where allowed by law, utilities maintain a profitable
margin between the price of energy delivered to the consumer and the rate credited for consumer-generated
energy that flows back to the grid. Lately, upload sources typically originate from renewable sources
(e.g., wind turbines, photovoltaic cells), or gas or steam turbines, which are often found
in cogeneration systems. Another potential upload source that has been proposed is plug-in hybrid car
batteries (vehicle-to-grid power systems). This requires a "smart grid," which includes meters that measure
electricity via communication networks that require remote control and give customers timing and pricing
options. Vehicle-to-grid systems could be installed at workplace parking lots and garages and at park and
rides and could help drivers charge their batteries at home at night when off-peak power prices are cheaper,
and receive bill crediting for selling excess electricity back to the grid during high-demand hours.

distribution system reliability indices

Reliability of a power distribution system is defined as the ability to deliver uninterrupted service to
customer. Distribution system reliability indices can be presented in many ways to reflect the
reliability of individual customers, feeders and system oriented indices related to substation. Two
approaches to reliability evaluation of distribution systems are normally used; namely, historical
assessment and predictive assessment. The distribution system is an important part of the total
electrical supply system. This is due to the fact that the distribution system provides the final link
between a utility's transmission system and its customers. It has been reported that more than
eighty per cent of all customer interruptions occur due to failures in the distribution system.
Distribution System Strengthening and Distribution Automation (DA) system are being increasingly
implemented under Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-
APDRP)/Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) by the electric utilities to reduce the
operational problems of distribution networks. System strengthening and the Distribution
Automation (DA) system not only provides system wide status and health monitoring but also helps
in coordinated controls required to enhance quality and reliability of the supply. In India, the Utilities
calculate Reliability Index and the same thing submitted to Regulatory commission and Central
Electricity Authority. The data base is not available to calculate all the Reliability indices as per
IEEE 1366-2012. An attempt has been made in this paper to calculate Reliability indices which
includes, System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI), System Average Interruption
Duration Index (SAIDI), Customer Average Interruption Frequency Index (CAIFI), Customer
Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI), Energy Not Supplied (ENS), Average Energy Not
Supplied (AENS), etc.

Distribution System Reliability Indices

In the following few words will discuss some of power system reliability indices which is consider as Key
Performance Index (KPI) in some utility supply companies. Some of these are commonly used in order to
evaluate the operation and performance of power system that supplying the customer.

For instant:

SAIFI: System Average Interruption Frequency Index.

SAIDI: System Average Interruption Duration Index.

CAIDI :Customer Average Interruption Duration Index.

ASAI : Average Service Availability Index.

ASUI: Average Service Unavailability Index

SAIFI: system average interruption frequency index.

The SAIFI index gives information about how often these interruptions occur on the average for each customer.

SAIFI = Total number of all interruptions / Total number of customers connected

SAIDI: system average duration index

The SAIDI index gives information about the average time the customer is interrupted in minutes (or hours) in
one year.

SAIDI = Total duration of all interruption / Total number of customers connected

CAIDI :Customer average interruption duration index.

CAIDI captures the average time that the utility responds by measuring the average time to restore service.

CAIDI = Total duration of all interruption / Total number of all interruption

ASAI : average service availability index.

ASAI = Total number of hours availability / Total demand hours

ASUI: Average Service Unavailability Index

ASUI = 1 ASAI

These are measuring tool that used in order to evaluate the performance of the system. Utility supply
companies are seeking to be within the standard approved range to motivate customers selecting them among
others.