Himalayan News Service

Both turbines out of service Hetauda, February 4: Generation of power from the Kulekhani II Hydro Electricity Project came to a complete halt from today.

“The generation of power has been halted because we have to repair the turbine of the first unit. The turbine of the first unit stopped generating power 10 months ago. We also had to take out the inlet valve of a turbine of the second unit. Power generation has come to a halt because of this,” project chief Ramesh Tiwari said. Each turbine used to generate 16-MW of power. “The generation of power, halted due to the malfunctioning inlet valve, will resume in 15 days. The first unit will start generating power in a month,” Tiwari said.

“Water is leaking from the inlet valve; we will repair it,” he said. A nine-member team headed by Japanese national Sujimura of the Fuji Electronic System is trying to repair the turbine that stopped functioning. The turbine will become operational by March, the team said. “We are working 14 hours a day to operate the turbine,” Tiwari said.

Source: The Himalayan Times, 5 feb 2008