My country has highest electric potential, but there is no electicity 18 hrs a day.

This might not be such a interesting topic for people outside my country, simply because this is not something that is affecting them or is of topic of their concern. However, the irony of the topic still may interest people.

My country NEPAL, as experts and scientists claim, is ranked 2nd in water resources and also has the largest hydro-electricity production capability. It is said that if we produce to our full potential we can produce so much electricity that each and every tree can have one bulb in each of the leaves and we can light them all up.

But the irony here is that in day for 16 hours we do not have electricity. This is about to increase to 18 hours next month and more afterwards.
The government official say the reason is that we do not have enough water in our dams but the thing here is we do not need a big dam because we have enough water falls here where plenty of mini dams can be built.

Another problem is that half of the population is illiterate and thus will go against any new idea because they will feel vulnerable. And there are plenty of politicians to make them feel insecure and abandon the ideas.

We three years before had a big revolt against the king and became republic. Then one of those groups which were named terrorist---Maoists, came to power. Again ironically, these people had killed thousands of people here but they were elected by the people. All know it was by illegal methods but no one can prove it. Even these people are in their way siege more political power and thus this is directly hampering the development process.

We are not in war right now but the suffering for innocent normal citizens is comparable.

As I said before, this might not be a topic of concern for u all, but still I would like to know your views and opinions about the topic, even solutions if u want to include.

Sorry to hear your country is having so much trouble and what you describe is typical of demand exceeding supply when development of the power system doesn't keep up with the growth in usage.

Hydro developments are very expensive if the whole project is considered like construction of dam(s), spillways, inlet/outlet control works, diversion tunnels, transmission system and of course the power station and generators. I'm assuming there is no manufacturer of hydro turbines/generators in your country so virtually all of that needs to be sourced from other countries. A typical single scheme with a new dam and say 2 medium size turbines would cost in the vicinity of 1 billion $US in today's market and the break-even time for hydro developments is around 50 years so private investors don't see it as an attractive investment - they want returns somewhat faster than that. Also, planning and construction needs to be approx 10 years ahead of projected demand growth to ensure continuity of supply.

The current worldwide financial downturn would make it difficult to finance such a project unless your government has the funds on hand already.

The best bang for the buck is currently gas turbines running on natural gas and they can be located virtually anywhere - all you need is a gas pipeline in and a transmission system to connect into.

And don't overlook the enlargement of the distribution system required to deliver the extra power which is also going to be expensive in terms of distribution transformers, substations, low voltage mains etc etc.

For your country's sake, I hope the current shortages are only due to enhancements currently in progress not being completed on time otherwise the wait for reliable supply will be a long one.

You guys need some decent leadership instead of a lacklustre king or a bunch of maoists.

If Nepal created hydroelectric dams, turbines etc Im sure you could not only solve your own power problems, you could also export electricity to India (who will require massive amounts of power soon). Your country could become very prosperous- but it will need a good leader

reply to post by 90% sure I am not alien!!


Unfortunately, hydro-electricity is not as easy as one would assume. The technology is there, but there are people barriers. I live in Middle Tennessee, United States. Where we have 3 main forms of electric production. Hydro, Coal-Oil, and Nuclear. The Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA, utilizes dams and other waters to produce electricity, but oil giants and those that don't want such liberal freedoms are somewhat imposing.

The only solution I've heard of that works in other areas is to form small groups that produce and supply electricity by varying means. Of course, with your gov't in a bit of disarray, take-over or elimination would be all too possible. As, this does happen is some of the third world countries I've learned of.

I don't know how it would be accepted, but you could start with a small collection of people and see if they would be interested in supplying electricity in small groups. I do know this is how Central India began when the became more modern, and it seem well accepted, there.

That sucks that you can't get reliable electricity. Most people take such things for granted. Anyway, expanding on what others have said, hydro electric developments are often massive programs that require great expense, long times and extensive infrastructure.

That being said, it doesn't necessarily mean you can't do it. There is micro hydro which may be a viable alternative, in terms of cost, labour and materials, especially since your country is rather mountainous, what with Everest and all.

en.wikipedia.org...

Also, reading up on wiki, it says your country's closest sea port is Calcutta, India, which is a fair way away, to say the least. Add to that a poor road infrastructure and the costs begin to climb on a major project. Especially, if you have to get materials manufactured overseas.

I think the best thing would be to start small, get communities involved that do support the idea, get them up and running, so other communities can directly see the benefits of small scale electricity production. It's possible your government may be willing to support smaller grass roots projects like this, as it may not press on them as much to fix the other problems (such as roads etc) while providing a larger electricity grid without the growing pains of a major project. I would try to sell it as a win win to the government, even if they may be a corrupt pack of..

You also have the downstream consumers of the water to think about. I did see a mention of dam-less hydro, as well. You must have plenty of wind there, too. Has anyone looked into that for Nepal?

Anyway, you sure did scare the crappers out of the East India Company, back in the day, I reckon you could do this. Best of luck.