Nepal's NEA plans ten transmission lines, two of them 400 kV, this year

What happened

The list was reported by Transformer Magazine, citing the Nepali outlet Nepal All. The biggest project is the 400 kV Hetauda-Dhalkebar line. It is 135 km long, 372 of its 378 towers are complete, and conductors have been strung over most of the route. Once it is energised, it should strengthen the flow of power between east and west Nepal and support exports through Dhalkebar.

The second 400 kV line crosses the border. The New Butwal-Gorakhpur line has about 18 km in Nepal and about 117 km in India. It is expected to start by carrying 200 megawatts (MW) of exports. A 220 kV line from Tumlingtar to Sheetalpati, in eastern Nepal, is due in early 2027. The other seven lines on the list are 132 kV: Kohalpur-Dailekh, Kaligandaki-Ridi, Bhumahi-Hukai, Amarpur-Dhungesahu, Lalbandi-Simalpur, Balefi-Barhabise and Kushma-New Modi.

The plan follows the budget for the year. In June 2026, New Spotlight reported that the government aimed to complete at least ten transmission lines within a year, to avoid wasting hydropower output and to manage supply and demand. It said the Hetauda-Dhalkebar line had been held up for a long time by local opposition, problems with using forest land and tree cutting, and that Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha had taken steps to clear them.

More lines are planned beyond this year. The same June report said the government would speed up the Hetauda-Ratmate-Lapsiphedi-New Damauli-New Butwal 400 kV corridor and the Karnali Corridor line. It also gave priority to two cross-border lines for power trade, Butwal-Gorakhpur and Inaruwa-Purnia. Studies were to move forward on further links to India, including Lamki-Dodhara-Bareilly and Nijgadh-Motihari, and on a Chilime Hub-Kerung line toward China.

The engineering behind it

The choice of voltage comes from basic physics. As general knowledge, the power lost as heat in a conductor depends on the square of the current. For the same power, a higher voltage needs less current, so losses fall sharply. A 400 kV line can carry far more power over long distances than a 132 kV line. Lower voltage lines are cheaper and suit shorter links, such as connecting a group of hydropower plants to a nearby substation.

A line is useless without substations at both ends. The New Butwal-Gorakhpur line shows this. New Spotlight reported in July 2026 that Nepal and India agreed to run the line at 220 kV for a time, because the Nepal section was due in August 2026 but the New Butwal 400 kV substation is not expected until December 2027. At 220 kV, the line can carry up to 200 MW of exports and 130 MW of imports.

Building a line in Nepal's hills is a civil engineering task as much as an electrical one. In general, each lattice steel tower needs a foundation designed for the soil or rock at that spot, and many sites are on slopes. Engineers check that towers can resist wind, ice and earthquake loads. Conductor stringing must keep enough clearance from the ground and trees, which is one reason forest clearance became a source of delay on Hetauda-Dhalkebar.

The upgrade options are also engineering choices. For the existing Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV line, New Spotlight reports that the two countries approved a plan to use high-temperature low-sag (HTLS) conductors. In general, HTLS conductors can carry more current on the same towers because they sag less when they heat up. This raises a line's capacity without building a new route.

What it means in Nepal

Transmission decides whether power reaches buyers. New Spotlight's July report puts Nepal's installed capacity at about 4,400 MW, including solar, with domestic demand of roughly 2,400 MW. Exports to India were about 1,200 MW. In July 2026, Nepal and India agreed to raise the export limit to 1,650 MW and the import limit to 1,400 MW. These limits only help if lines and substations can carry the power. New Spotlight also reports that trade used to run only on the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV line, and that a Dhalkebar-Sitamarhi 400 kV route has now been added.

The lines on this list serve different needs. The 400 kV lines move bulk power across the country and across the border. The 132 kV lines link hydropower plants and districts to the grid. Minister Shrestha has spoken of a long-term goal of exporting 10,000 MW to India, and that goal depends on many more lines and substations being built. Each new line also needs protection systems that disconnect a fault quickly, so one failure does not spread across the grid.

There is one point to watch. In June 2026, New Spotlight listed the Kohalpur-Dailekh-Surkhet 132 kV line as already completed, while the August list includes Kohalpur-Dailekh among lines due this year. The reports may describe different sections or stages. Readers should treat the list as a plan, and check each line's status when it is formally energised.