The base camp of Tilicho Lake, a popular tourist destination in Manang district, has been connected to the national transmission grid.
According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), a 50 kVA distribution transformer has been installed at the base camp, located 4,250 meters above sea level at Khangsar in Manang Nesyang Rural Municipality-9.
Around a dozen hotels, a health post, and several eateries have been in operation in the area.
The number of electricity customers is 15, according to the NEA.
The reach of the national grid in the area situated within the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) will benefit the locals and visitors, who are dependent on gas, solar power and diesel generators.
With the availability of national grid power, an oximeter has been installed at the base camp to assist trekkers.
With the use of electricity for boiling water, the gas consumption is expected to go down by 40 percent, said Chyolpa Gurung, Ward Chair of Manang Nesyang Rural Municipality-9. Gurung also operates a hotel at the base camp. Locals use gas in their kitchen which is more economical than firewood, Gurung added.
A 33 kV electricity transmission line has been extended from a substation in Marsyangdi Rural Municipality-5 of Lamjung to a 33/11 kV substation in Sakru, Chame Municipality-1. From this substation, an 11 kV line has been extended to the base camp.
“Although the long transmission line causes occasional trip outages,” Gurung said, “If it becomes more reliable in the coming days, we will be able to install air conditioners in hotels and use electric induction stoves for cooking.”
The NEA has been operating the 45 kW Chame Small Hydroelectric Project and the 80 kW Manang Small Hydroelectric Project to supply electricity in the area.
Raju Mahato, the Chief of the Manang Distribution Center, mentioned that when the national transmission line experiences outages, the small hydroelectric plants continue to produce and supply electricity.
Under the Marsyangdi Corridor 220 kV transmission line project, a 220 kV substation has been completed in Dharapani, Nason Rural Municipality-1, Manang. Once the line from this substation comes into operation, the electricity supply to Manang will improve.
The Dharapani substation has been equipped with the necessary infrastructure for local electricity supply.
Once the line starts operating, the length of the transmission line will be reduced, which will lead to an improvement in the electricity supply, according to NEA. Construction of the Dharapani substation is expected to be completed within the next 18 months.
