Nepal’s electricity network has taken a big step toward becoming fully smart. Seven old grid substations of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have finally shifted to an automatic operating system, making power management faster and more reliable.
NEA had planned to modernize 13 old substations and turn them into smart, automated units. In the first phase, seven of them have already moved to the new system.
These include substations in Panauti, Banepa, Patan, Lainchaur, Balaju, Chapali and Bhaktapur.
All these upgraded substations are now operated from a new central control room built at Minbhawan. The control room allows real-time monitoring and automatic operation, reducing human errors and speeding up decisions during power load changes or faults.
Six more substations will join the automatic network within the next two months. They include Syuchatar, Teku, Matatirtha, Chabahil, K3 and Lamosanghu.
Once upgraded, these systems will link with the Syuchatar Load Dispatch Center through supervisory control and data technology. This will make the entire network stronger and more dependable.
NEA Executive Director Manoj Silwal said the shift to automation will cut frequent power interruptions and make load management much easier.
He added that maintenance costs will drop and technical losses will shrink. With time, many substations will no longer need on-site staff for daily operation because the system will handle most tasks on its own.
The project was funded through a soft loan from the Asian Development Bank under the Power Transmission and Distribution Efficiency Strengthening Project.
The total cost for this phase is around 61 crore rupees.
Work is also underway to automate the remaining 64 grid substations across the country using ADB’s concessional loan.
NEA aims to complete all upgrades within the next one and a half years. After that, Nepal’s entire grid network will run through an automatic and smart system.
