By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Mar. 31: The 132/33/11 kV East Chitwan substation – constructed at Hardi in Rapti Municipality-6, Chitwan, with the joint investment of the government and Nepal Electricity Authority – has been inaugurated. Former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' inaugurated the substation at a programme organised in Hardi on Wednesday, according to a press statement of NEA.
The substation, constructed at a cost of Rs. 633 million, aims to make the power supply reliable in Rapti, Khairahani and Kalika municipalities of the district.
Electricity flowing from the Hetauda-Bharatpur transmission line has been supplied to the area through the East Chitwan substation.

Speaking on the occasion, former Prime Minister Dahal said that he had ended load shedding from the country by forming a strong team in the energy sector when he was the prime minister and that the country now had reached the stage of exporting electricity.

"In the past, we were plagued by a complex and challenging situation of 15-16 hours of load shedding daily, but we have made that history now by amazingly eliminating load shedding. At present, the country is not only free from load-shedding but has also reached the stage of exporting the surplus electricity," he said.

"With the end of load-shedding, the use of electricity in every sector, including stoves, industry and transport has increased. This has had a huge positive impact on the political, social and economic spheres."

He urged building electrical infrastructure in the main cities and industrial areas targeting the demand of electricity for 50 years.
Dahal also requested the locals to help in the construction of a 33 kV double circuit transmission line from East Chitwan substation to Chainpur. On the occasion, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal said that the electricity tariff has been made cheaper to provide irrigation facilities to the cultivable land.

She said, "We cannot afford to increase the price of petroleum products, so let's use electricity in every sector that is about 40-50 per cent cheaper than petroleum products."
Managing Director of NEA Kul Man Ghising said that the technical leakage of the sector has decreased after the substation came into operation