Rahughat's 40 MW plant in Myagdi starts feeding the national grid

The 40 MW Rahughat Hydropower Project, developed by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) through its subsidiary Raghuganga Hydropower Limited, has been connected to the national grid, The Rising Nepal and Republica reported on 25 and 26 September 2026. Its two 20 MW units in Raghuganga Rural Municipality, Myagdi, began generating and were joined to the transmission system on Wednesday, with power evacuated over the 220 kV Kaligandaki Corridor line. Under the power purchase agreement with the NEA, the plant now enters a 15-day test generation phase before commercial production begins. Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha, who heads the NEA and chairs the board of Raghuganga Hydropower Limited, said the scheme was finished through sustained effort despite difficult terrain, the COVID-19 pandemic and floods. Because it can run at full capacity for four hours each evening, when demand peaks, he expects it to help manage dry-season demand. Annual generation is projected at 247.9 million units, roughly 34 percent of which would come in the dry season. Its estimated cost, excluding interest during construction, is NPR 9.17 billion. Funding came from the Government of Nepal and the NEA, together with a concessional loan from India's Exim Bank drawn under a line of credit. The civil works contract, worth NPR 6 billion, went to Jaiprakash Associates of India. Reports differ on the signing date: The Rising Nepal's first report and Republica give 17 November 2017, while a later Rising Nepal report gives 21 November 2017, taking effect on 24 May 2018. The original 45-month deadline was pushed back in February 2022, June 2024 and July 2025, the last setting a target of 27 November 2025, and has now been extended a fourth time as the project nears completion. The Rising Nepal also reported that Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited of India was contracted for electromechanical works on 15 October 2019, effective from 4 December 2019, and that WAPCOS Limited of India supervised construction. The NEA had first started Rahughat itself at 32 MW, but that contract was terminated over the contractor's performance; the authority then raised the capacity to 40 MW and completed it through its subsidiary under a company model.