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2 www.hrcshp.org SHP NEWS Winter 2005

Small Hydropower Plants at Drops on Multi-Use Water Courses

ABSTRACT

n arid regions of various coun-tries in the world, multi-use

water courses take off from storagereservoirs or diversion head works.The canals, running at very mildslopes to maintain maximum com-mand negotiate steeper slopes of theterrain through drops at suitableintervals. The energy of flows at thesefalls, otherwise dissipated causingthermal pollution of the environment,can be utilized to generate hydro-power by mini / micro hydro turbinegenera tor . Canal drops arestandardized, thus offering an excel-lent opportunity to standardize thesmall hydropower units, resulting ineconomy. The canals carry regulatedand predictable flows free fromdebris. The flow-duration curves canbe easily obtained with precision.The greatest advantage for hydro-power generation at the canal dropsis operation at maximum efficiencyunder constant head and dischargefor a unit. A battery of hydro unitscan be installed to be successivelystarted or stopped as the dischargeand hence the water level in the up-stream reach of the canal rises orfalls. Bulb turbines with fixed guidevanes and runner blades in siphonsplaced directly over suitably modi-fied drop walls present the simplestand most economical solution as allcivil works and complicated con-trols are avoided. Grid connectedsystems with induction generatorswill simplify controls. Prompted bythe canal water level sensed, thecontrol unit starts vacuum pump toprime a siphon and start a unit or

de-prime the siphon by opening tothe atmosphere a vent on the siphonhood and thus stop the unit. A num-ber of units on various falls on a ca-nal can remotely be controlled. Thebulb units with hermitically sealedgenerators can be replaced throughmanholes for maintenance at a cen-tral workshop. A small travelingcrane over the units and a cabinetfor controls are all that are requiredas auxiliaries. The design case studyof such a mini-micro hydropowerstation on a two meter drop on acanal is presented to exemplify.

INTRODUCTION

ainfall, confined to monsoonperiods, is seasonal in most

parts of the world, while requirementof water for various purposes likeirrigation, hydropower generation,domestic consumption and industrialuse, is perennial or maximum in drynon-monsoon periods. To regulatethe excess monsoon flows in streamsto supply all the time as per demand,storage reservoirs are created. In aridregions of various countries in theworld, agricultural fields are irrigatedby canal systems taking off from stor-age reservoirs or diversion headworks on rivers carrying more thanrequired flows all the time. These ca-nals are often multi-use water courses.The canals are given the minimumnecessary mild slopes to maintainnon-silting velocities so that they runwith least head loss to maintain maxi-mum command over areas to be irri-gated or to provide maximum headfor power generation. The naturalslopes of the terrain over which the

Icanals are aligned are generallysteeper. Whenever the difference inelevation of the canal bed and thenatural ground around necessitatesuneconomically high embankmentsfor the canals, the canals negotiatethe steeper slopes of the terrainthrough drops or falls at suitableintervals, depending on the topogra-phy of the terrain. Normally, the en-ergy of the falling waters at these irri-gation canal drops are killed throughspecial energy dissipating devices.The wastage of energy at these dropsdrew the attention of hydropowerengineers, especially when more at-tractive hydropower sites started be-coming scarce and large storageprojects encountered stiff oppositionfrom environmental and socio-eco-nomical quarters. Energy of flows atthese falls can be gainfully utilized togenerate hydropower by small / mini/ micro hydro turbine generator units.But the interests of irrigation require-ments and power generation througha conventional power house at thedrops clashed. Irrigation engineerswanted no interference. Conven-tional Small Hydropower Plants (SHP)on water course diversions at dropsrequire elaborate construction and notvery economical. Bulb turbine–gen-erator units of simple constructionwith least regulation and minimal con-trols placed in siphons directly fittedover the drop wall with practically nocivil construction can provide eco-nomical solution to generation ofhydropower at the canal drops. Thepaper presents a study of such anSHP system on canal drops and ex-emplifies with a design.

R

S.Rangnekar,M.A.National Inst. of Technology, P.Krishnamachar,Bansal College of Engineering,India

SHP Development and Programme Worldwide

SHP NEWS Winter 2005 www.hrcshp.org 3

CANAL DROPS / FALLSAND SHP POTENTIAL

hrough the outlets / sluices inthe storage or diversion head

works, required flows are dischargedi n t o t h e m a i n c a n a l h e a d s .Incidentally, these outlets are alsosources of SHP, the potential of whichcan be computed from the reservoir /pond working tables. The main ca-nals thus drawing water from the headworks branch out and distribute wa-ter for irrigation of fields. The canalsrun at the least slopes possible tomaintain critical (non-silting and non-scouring) velocities so that they cankeep to the highest level possible atany point to command the maximumarea. Canals are constructed withtrapezoidal sections though earthen/ alluvial regime canals may tend totake semi-elliptical sections. The bedslopes s of earthen regime canals varyfrom 1/6000 to 1/2000 depending upondischarge, nature of soil/silt, andsection. They have an average rug-osity coefficient, n of 0.025. Canalscarrying 1 m3 /s and upwards fall un-der the jurisdiction of public or cor-porate authority, field canals of lessflow being in the hands of farmers(Ellis 1995). Modern canals are linedwith cement concrete with flatter sides l o p e s f o r c o n v e n i e n c e i nconstruction. They have rugositycoefficient of about half that ofearthen canals. Hence, to convey thesame flow with non-silting velocitythrough similar cross section, bedslopes required will be about a fourthof that for earthen canals as could beseen from the commonly usedManning’s equation for velocity,

V= R2/3s 1/2, where R is the hydraulicmean radius of the canal section. So,the lined canals can command greaterarea. The canals running at such verymild slopes negotiate steeper slopesof the natural ground through drops/ falls at suitable intervals depending

upon the canal water levels requiredfor the command, balancing the cutand fill for canal construction,economy and site conditions. Linedcanals running at much milder slopesthan earthen canals loose less headand provide much greater falls.

Good designs of falls maintainuniform depths upstream over thenormal range of variat ion ofdischarge. This is achieved by tak-ing the drop wall to the full supplylevel and providing in it one or morenotches with sloping sides. The theo-retically correct shape of the notchto give normal depth at every dis-charge will be egg-shaped / parabolic,difficult to set out and build. A trap-ezoidal notch with horizontal sill andside slopes to give normal depth attwo discharges (usually, full and half)covering the range of variation givesa practical notch. Multiple notchesdistributed over the canal width areused to avoid silting of slack pocketsof water. The drop walls are built ofmasonry or cement concrete and aregenerally provided with concreteaprons upstream and downstream towhich SHP units can be readilybolted. Drops are standardized in anysystem at discrete incrementalheights of say, typically 1m, 1.2m,1.5m, 2m, 3m. Suitable energy dissi-paters are built at the foot of the dropto dissipate the energy of the fallingwater and leave it at normal velocityinto the downstream channel. Thisotherwise wasted energy is what isproposed to be harnessed by SHPplants at the drops.

Flows in the canals at each sec-tion and their durations are availablefrom irrigation and water supplyrequirements. These are predeter-mined and adjusted occasionallyonly to take into account the mea-sured precipitation in the commandarea during any interval of time. Thedata will be available for each drop

T

site. From this data for any drop site,flow-duration curve can be obtained.Applying to this data the drop / headand efficiency of a turbine-generatorset

TG suitable for the fall, the

power-duration curve for the site of afall can be derived as:

Power, P= kW

Where: TG

is the efficiency of theturbine-generator set, thespecific weight of water inkg/m3, Q the discharge in m3/sec, H the drop in bed or wa-ter level at the fall.

Integration of the curve yieldsthe energy potential of the drop (Fig.1). Sum of the energy potential at allthe drops on a canal gives the SHPpotential of a canal at its drops(Kamble 2002).

If canal is not designed, thegross fall in the canal bed level canbe obtained from the maximum andminimum levels of the command areafrom its contours. The fall requiredfor the flow through the canal can beestimated as the average slope of theirrigation canals of comparablecapacity. The total head that will beavailable at drops on the canal canthen be estimated as the differencebetween the gross fall and the fall re-quired for the canal flow from the av-erage slope. Then the SHP potentialat the drops of the canal can be esti-mated from the estimated total drop

and the average flow Qavg

in thecanal, assuming an average efficiencyfor the turbine-generator set,

avgTG

Estimated average Power,

P= kW, Half the flow

at the canal head can be taken as theaverage flow if it is not preciselyknown. The estimated average powermultiplied by duration of flow givesan estimate to the SHP potential atdrops of the canal.



ADVANTAGES OF BULB-TURBINE-GENERATORS INS I P H O N S AT C A N A LDROPS

he canal flows are controlledand regulated as per irrigation

and water supply needs. Therefore,the flows and power are predictable.Flows do not fluctuate and changefrequently but remain steady overlong periods of time of several days.The flow-duration curves and energyobtainable can be more or less pre-cisely estimated. As coarse silt anddebris are excluded / ejected at thecanal heads, the canals carry waterfree from coarse silt or debris. Trashracks can be eliminated / simplified atthe SHP stations at drops. Canaldrops are standardized, thus offeringan excellent opportunity to standard-ize (Rangnekar 2000) and produce thesmall hydropower units in mass, re-sulting in economy and renderingsuch units competitive. The siphonunits pass discharge as and whenavailable under the total head betweenthe upstream and downstream canalwater levels at the drop (not underjust the head over the sill of thenotches as in a normal canal drop) anddo not interfere with the other uses

T

including the consumptive use forirrigation and water supply. Siphonunits offer several advantages: elimi-nation of inlet gates and dewateringsystem, convenience of operation,simple controls, improved runawaycondition and elimination of ice prob-lems in cold climate (Auroy 1964).

Energy dissipaters, normallyprovided at canal drops, can be dis-pensed with thus saving on theircost. SHP plants at canal drops arequite often installed on diversions inmore or less conventional power-houses with avoidable auxiliaries.Such an arrangement renders SHPuneconomical. Bulb turbinegeneratorunits in siphons placed directly oversuitably modified drop walls andbolted down to the floors present thesimplest and most economical solu-tion with the bypass and powerhouseeliminated.

The greatest advantage for hy-dropower generation at the canaldrops is constant head at a drop forvarying flows. As head is constantand discharge for a unit varies withina narrow range, any one unit will beproducing its rated output at themaximum efficiency or going off. Con-stant head and discharge through a

unit makes possible adoption of pro-peller turbines of simple constructionwith fixed guide vanes and runnerblades . The bulb uni ts wi thhermitically sealed generators can bereplaced through manholes for main-tenance at a central workshop thusreducing outages to a minimum. Asmall traveling crane over the unitsand a cabinet for controls are all thatare required, thus dispensing with apower house structure. Grid con-nected systems with induction gen-erators will simplify controls. A num-ber of units on various falls on a ca-nal can be remotely controlled. It willbe most economical and practicablewhen a cascade of canal drops is de-ve loped by a s ingle agency(Krishnamachar 1997) .

In addition to all the advantagesof renewable, clean and economicalhydropower, SHP on canal drops asproposed, causes no submergenceand has no ecological impact. Overand above, it converts the energy ofwater at the fall into useful electricalenergy and eliminates the thermalpollution otherwise caused by thedissipation of energy of the droppingwater. SHP is most widespread.

PROPOSED SETUP FOR SHPON CANAL DROP (Fig.2.)

ased on the head available at adrop, the specific speed of suit-

able bulb turbine is chosen. The maxi-mum discharge available in the canalis then divided into a convenientnumber of parts to get the flowthrough a turbine. If notched dropsare adopted, discharge through a tur-bine can be taken as the maximumflow through a notch. Number ofunits should be chosen to cater tothe range of variation in dischargeand level in the upstream reach ofthe canal. If all the drops of the samefall on a canal system are considered,

B


Energy per year=2,781,615 kWh


and the discharge through each unitis taken as the HCF of the maximumdischarges in the canal at each of thedrops, it will be ideal for standardiza-tion and mass production of units.However, the flow through a turbinemay be chosen from the technical re-quirements of the unit and the totaldischarge may not be an integralmultiple of the flow through a unit.From the head and the flow, the di-mensions of the turbine unit are ar-rived at.

The units are symmetrically lo-cated along the length of the dropwall. If necessary, the length of thedrop wall may be increased to accom-modate the units in a new design. Ina notched drop, the notch wall willbe up to the upstream full supply level(FSL) in the upstream canal. Thenotches will have to be plugged andthe siphon units bolted down to theconcrete floor of the canal at the drop.In case of single rectangular notchwithout end contractions (rectangularweir type), the sill of the weir will haveto be raised to FSL and siphon unitsplaced over the wall bolted down tothe drop floors. In any case, the hoodof the siphon is above FSL. A foot-bridge over the abutments, sup-ported by piers over the drop wallwhere the canal width or length ofthe drop wall is more, providesaccess. A monorail traveling craneover the units will facilitate erectionand maintenance.

The siphon, housing the bulbunit and proportioned on turbinediameter, rests on the drop wall withits inlet and exit sections submergedunder upstream and downstream ca-nal water levels and fixed to theaprons or floors. The siphon is con-nected at the crest of its hood to avacuum pump in the control cabinet.The vacuum pump primes a siphonwhen the upstream canal water level

reaches a predetermined level andstarts the flow and the turbine. Thevacuum pump stops when priming iscomplete and turbine starts. As thewater level falls to a preset value, alittle below the starting level, the si-phon will be deprimed by a valve onthe hood opening into atmosphere,the flow ceases and the turbinestops. The siphon is provided with amanhole just above the bulb unitthrough which the unit can beinstalled, accessed, and replaced formaintenance at a central workshop.The traveling crane is located justover the manholes.

BULB TURBINE IN SIPHON

ulb turbine derives its namefrom the bulb shaped upstream

water tight shell, which, in fact,houses the coupled generator and isconsidered to be the ultimate in ultralow head turbine developments. Thebulb not only accelerates the flowtowards the guide wheel and runnerbut also provides excellent coolingof the generator through its wall overwhich the cool water passes. Thestraflow turbines are claimed to offereven less obstruction to flow, butlacks the cooling advantage so im-portant for higher efficiency andsmaller size of the generator. As thehead and discharge are constant, axialflow turbine with fixed guide vanesand runner blades, with practicallyno regulation is suggested for canaldrop SHP units. Bulb turbines in si-phon layout are ideal for microhydelsites at canal drops of 1 to 4 meters.Range of unit quantities for Kaplanturbines are: unit discharge Q

11 = Q/

(D12 H) = 800-3000; unit speed, n

11 =

nD1/ H = 100-200; where Q is dis-

charge through turbine, n the speedof rotation, H the head and D

1 the

runner diameter. Bulb turbines main-tain their highest efficiency in the

B

range of specific speed ns of 650 to

1000, though they continue to havebetter efficiency than any other typeof turbine beyond also (Barlit 2004).

From the developed designs fordifferent ranges of specific speedavailable with turbine manufacturers,a Kaplan turbine design of suitablespecific speed is to be chosen for thehead available at a site (drop). Whiledeveloping a tailor made design fore a c h S H P p l a n t r e n d e r s i tuneconomical, it will be feasible todevelop a design for a large numberof turbines for similar conditions likehead and discharge. From the univer-sal characteristics or hill chart of aproven model of a developed designso chosen, the peak efficiency andunit speed, unit discharge, guide vaneangle and runner blade angle areobtained. From the head at a drop andthe unit quantities and efficiencyobta ined f rom the universa lcharacteristics, salient dimensionsand parameters of the turbine arecomputed for each chosen value ofdischarge through a turbine (peakdischarge in the canal / No. ofturbines) from the equations:

Discharge,

as p

m when D

1p/

D1m

is small as in microhydel. Or, the di-ameter of the turbine runner,

D1p

= , where p refers to turbine

being designed and m to the chosen

model tested. The speed of rotation of

the turbine, np=n

11 .

Specific speed, ns=np to

check with 3.65 n11

, where Power,

P = ( Q )/75, being the specificweight of water. Next higher synchro-nous speed is chosen and the param-eters worked back. Dimensions ofInlet, draft tube outlet, bulb etc., are



computed from model applying theproportion D

1p / D

1m and from statis-

tical data on similar units.

Then the canal and the drop aredesigned or, if the SHP station is tobe designed for an existing drop, theavailable designs considered. Thatnumber of turbines, and correspond-ing discharge through a turbine,which can be accommodated withinthe canal width or length of drop wallare chosen. Normally the width of thedraft tube (Gubin 1973) exit, being themaximum width of the unit, governsthis choice. Submergence at minimumoperational upstream canal waterlevel over inlet section is taken equalto runner diameter or half the depthof inlet section. Clearance betweenthe inlet section and the floor shouldprovide an inflow area equal to thearea of inlet. These two dimensionsare arrived at from pump suction in-takes (Stepenoff 1967). If necessary,the floor may be depressed. Vortices,if formed, can be suppressed bywooden floating grills. The exit endof a draft tube normally requires nosubmergence (Gubin 1973). But theexit end of the siphon needs to besealed for the siphon to be primed bythe vacuum pump. The exit sectionmay be brought to be parallel to thefloor of the downstream basin and aclearance equal to the lower of tur-bine runner diameter or downstreamdepth of water in the canal provided.The submergence of a third of therunner diameter may be provided overthe outlet. The downstream clearanceand submergence will be provided bythe basin depth required for the drop.The basin may have to be marginallydepressed. In an existing drop, theadditional basin depth may be pro-vided by constructing an end sill ofrequired height. (Advani 1975).

GENERATOR

he induct ion generator ,mounted on the same shaft as

the turbine runner forming amonoblock unit, is housed in thestreamlined upstream bulb, filled withdielectric oil under slightly higherpressure than water around. Oil, cir-culating by impeller action throughthe generator, dissipates the heat ofalternator losses across the walls ofthe shell over which cool water flows.The oil also assures good lubrication.The diameter of the bulb housing theg e n e r a t o rshould not belarge to en-sure properflow to theturbine. Usu-ally the ratioof shell diam-eter to runnerdiameter iskept below 1,though 0.9, 0.8 and even 0.67 has been used. Smaller bulb diam-eter requires greater length of bulb.

The relation that is useful in fixing

the dimensions of the generator is:

=C. The con-

stant C is useful mainly for choosingthe length and diameter of the gen-erator of a unit. It varies with the gen-erator capacity and type of cooling,falling with increasing capacity andimproved cooling with compressedair or oil – 0.7 or even 1 for micro bulbunits of about 100kW to as low as0.192 (Rance) or even 0.172 (Baumont–Monteau) for large bulb units withspecial cooling. Radial arms of rotorshould be so shaped that they act asa pump / blower to draw oil / air fromboth the ends of the generator andpump / blow through vents in the ro-tor and armature to pick up heat and

Tpast the inner surface of the shell tocool. Synchronous speed of thegenerator, n

syn nearest (lower) to the

speed of the runner is to be chosen

from nsyn

= , where f is the fre-

quency of power supply in the gridand N

p is the number of poles in the

generator stator. Having arrived at thepower output, synchronous speed,number of poles, dimensions of thebulb and generator, choice will haveto be made from the developed de-signs for different ranges availablewith manufacturers of bulb sets.

CONTROLS

ith fixed blade guide wheel andrunner of the turbine running

under practically constant head anddischarge, the governor is eliminated.The main control functions requiredare starting and stopping each unitat predetermined upstream water lev-els in the canal and connecting thegenerator to the grid as soon as thesynchronous speed is attained. Thesiphon constitutes the organ for start-ing and cutting off the flow. For thispurpose it carries on its crown anopening communicating on one handwith an electrically operated valveopening to the atmosphere and onthe other hand with a water ringvacuum pump through a valve. Thebulb set automatically runs at full loador stops , the starting and stopping

W



T

being controlled by two sensors fixedat two predetermined levels in theupstream canal, one above the othera few centimeters apart. Relays pro-voke either the vacuum pump permit-ting the priming of the siphon andstarting of the unit or the electricallyoperated valve causing depriming.

The sequence of control operationwill be as below (Fig.3.):

Discharge and hence the waterlevel in the upstream canal rises andreaches the starting level (L

start)for a

unit. The sensor located at that levelsends signal to the controller.

The controller closes the valve(V

atm)opening the crown of the unit

to the atmosphere, starts the vacuumpump and opens the valve (V

vac)on

the vacuum line connected to thecrown of the unit.

Water fills the siphon as thevacuum builds up and the flow startsthe bulb turbine-generator unit.

Generator attains synchronousspeed and the controller monitoringthe unit connects the generator to thegrid through the transformer.

As the discharge and hence thewater level rises to the starting levelfor the next unit, starting operationsfollow similar sequence for that unit.The process repeats for all the unitsat the drop.

When the discharge and waterlevel fall to the stopping level (Lstop)for a unit located a few centimetersBelow the starting level, a sensor lo-cated at that level sends signal to thecontroller.

The controller disconnects thegenerator from the grid, opens thevalve connecting the crown of theunit to atmosphere, thus breaking thevacuum and stopping the flow andthe unit.

CASE STUDY

he case of a two meter drop onShahpur branch canal ofTungabhadra project in

Karnataka State of India is taken asan example (Chandrasekhar 1996).

No. of 2m drops=19 in a reachof 27.36 km. Peak discharge in canal =35.27 to 12.47 m3/sec.

Study will be made for the canalsection and drop with discharge = 35.27 m3/sec. The flow – duration andpower – duration chart is presentedin Fig.1. Hydropower potential at thedrop chosen has been computed at2,781,615 kWh per year. With

T

=89% and G=86.5%, energy output

of the SHP = 2,141,426 kWh.

Canal designed as alluvialchannel:

Discharge = 35.27 m3/sec, Bedwidth, b = 23.5m,

Depth of flow, d = 1.8m, Sideslopes = 1:1, Bed slope, s=1/6050.

After choosing the number ofunits, upstream (US) canal waterdepth at which each number of unitsto run is computed:

No. of units: 5 4 3 2 1US depth(m): 1.78 1.68 1.41 1.11 0.73

Drop of trap-ezoidal notchesdesigned:

No. of notches= 5. Discharge,q / notch = 7 m3/sec. Depth=1.8m. Half dis-charge = 3.5 m3/sec. Depth, d =1.2m. q = 2/3 (2g). C d 3/2 (l +0.4d n). C = 0.78for streamlinede d g e s . S i l llength l of notch= 0.972m, sideslope = 1/2n = 0.

2195.Top width of notch = 1.752m,width for 5 notches = 8.76m.

With min. pier width =1/2d = 0.9and end piers of 3/4width, Min.length of drop wall required = 13.71m« b of 23.5m. Depth of downstreambasin /cushion = 1.4m.

Turbine Design based on uni-versal characteristics of a Kaplanmodel of a developed design testedat Hydro Research Lab at the Na-tional Institute of Technology,Bhopal, India:

Model diameter = 400mm; Head= 2m;

peak = 89%; n

11=148.5rpm; Q

11=

1760 lps; ns= 678.4;

No. of runner blades = 4; No. ofguide vanes = 16; Guide vane angle =560;

Runner blade angle = 8.60.Hence, for H = 2m and Q or Q

p=

7cumecs:

D1p

or D = 1.667m; np or n = 125.2

rpm; P = 166.11 hp = 122.25kW.

From statistical data on bulb tur-bines in siphons, pump suction anddraft tube exit designs:

Width of inlet section = 4.86 m;Width of draft tube outlet = 4.947m;



C

Hence, width of channel = length ofdrop wall required to accommodate 5turbines = 24.74m. The channel shouldbe marginally widened at the drop by1.25m.

Submergence of entrance sec.below min. U.S operating water levelof 1.2m = 0.27D = 0.45m.

Clearance between U.S floorlevel and inlet section = D / d /depthof inlet section, 2.5m.

Upstream floor level may be de-pressed by 1.75m in a new design. Asthis will encourage silting, the clear-ance may be limited to d and floordepressed by 1m.

Clearance between downstreamfloor and D.T exit = D = 1.677m; Sub-mergence = 0.6m /0.5m; Depth of D.Sbasin = 2.3 /2.2 m. In existing drops, asill at the end of the basin may beraised by 0.9/0.8m above D.S bedlevel. These are conservative andcould even be reduced further to anominal 0.15m.

Generator

Speed of rotation, n = 125rpm,matches with the synchronous speedfor 50 c/s with 48 poles.

Power input from turbine =122.25kW.

G =86.5%. Generator

output = 105.75kW. Bulb diameter atgenerator section generator diam-eter = 0.82 D / 0.66D = 1.375 / 1.118m;Length of cylindrical part of bulb= 0.55D / 0.53D = 0.922/0.89m; (Auroy1964/Advani 1975).

Length of armature = 0.333D /0.311D = 0.558 / 0.52 m. C = 1.08 /0.709.

Total length of bulb = 1.05D =1.76m.

CONCLUSIONS

anal drops offer the uniqueideal conditions of constant

head and discharge through a turbine

that can operate at its best efficiencypoint all the time, in addition to all theadvantages of renewable, clean andeconomical hydropower. These con-ditions allow efficient application ofsimple designs of axial flow turbineswith fixed guide vanes and runnerblades. Bulb turbines in siphons atcanal drops provide the most efficientand convenient solution of simplestdesign, with minimal controls andcivil works. Such SHPs offer practi-cally no interference with other uses.SHPs at canal drops convert the en-ergy at drops, otherwise wasted, dou-bly saving the mankind from the pol-lution added to the environment bythe energy dissipated as heat at suchdrops as well as alternate pollutinggeneration of equivalent energy fromother sources. Bulb turbines in si-phon layout at canal drops can beefficiently applied to the lowest headsof 1 to 4 meters, with highest unit dis-charge of 800 to 3000 lps, unit speedof 100 to 200 rpm and specific speedn

s of 650 to 1000 with unique techni-

cal and economic advantages. Whiledeveloping a tailor made design fore a c h S H P p l a n t r e n d e r s i tuneconomical, it will be feasible todevelop a design for a large numberof turbines for similar conditions likehead and discharge per unit at cas-cades of canal drops as exemplifiedby about 70 turbines under the samehead and discharge at 20 drops on asingle canal in a reach of 27 km in thecase study. Canal and drop can ac-commodate the bulb turbines in si-phon with little modifications and in-terference with other uses. Inductiongenerators in oil-filled casing with in-duced flow of oil are more efficientand need 1/3rd smaller generators.With no governors needed, the con-trols are simplified.

REFERENCES

Advani.C.T. 1975, Micro Hydro

P o w e r S t a t i o n s , G r e n o b l e ,SOGREAH.

Auroy.M.F. 1964, Les Groupe-Bulbesdans les Amenagements Hydro-Electriques, Annales de l’InstitutTechnique et Batiment et des TravauxPublics, No.203, Serie 73, Paris, pp1424-1445.

Barlit.V.V. Krishnamachar.P. et al,2004, Hydraulic Turbines.

Chandrasekhar.S., Reddy. V.V., 1996,Shahpur Minihydel Scheme - SmallHydro Development, New Delhi,IAHR & CBIP, pp 356-372.

Ellis.W.M. 1995, Irrigation, Madras,Government Press.

Kamble. A.G. 2002, Small HydroPower at Reservoir Outlets and Ca-nal Drops of an Irrigation Projectand Typical Overall Designs of Hy-dro Turbine Units, P.G. Thesis,MANIT, Bhopal.

Gubin.M.F. 1973, Draft Tubes of Hy-droelectric Stations, Moscow / NewDelhi, Amerind.

Krishnamachar.P, et. al. 1997, SWOTAnalysis for Small-Hydro, Proc.Inter-national Conf. On Small Hydro, 12-13March, British Council, New Delhi.

Rangnekar.S. et al, 2000, Simplifica-tion and Standardisation of SmallHydo Power Plants and theirControls, Proc. Int. Conf. on EnergyManagement Beyond 2000, 19-21 OctI.E (I). Lucknow, pp 290-298.

Stepanoff.A.J. 1967, Centrifugal andAxial Flow Pumps,– Suction SumpDesign, pp. 357-358, New York, JohnWiley.



1.1 Institutional Barriers

n Pakistan, research, develop-ment and implementation of

small & micro hydel power on com-mercial scale has been hampered by alack of co-ordination, institutionalsupport, poor definition of mandatesa n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f t h eorganizations. Until May, 2003, therewas not a single central agency withthe overall responsibility for policy,planning, targets, co-ordination andstrategic management of this sector,although there were a number of dis-parate bodies set up with limited ob-jectives and little coordinationamongst different stakeholders. As aresult, little or no initiatives taken, somicro hydel application has not beenable to progress beyond the pilot ortechnology demonstration phase, ex-cept micro cross flow turbines. Be-cause of the absence of some centralagency for overarching, systematicapproach to the vast renewable re-source deployment, local community-level and distributed energy demandand supply options had not beenproperly assessed. Areas and aspectswhere this renewable energy options

Hydel Power Development Issues, Counter

Measures and Policies in Pakistan

By Dr. S. M. Bhutta

Chairman,Quality Advisor (Pvt.) Limited.

66 - 67, Industrial Triangle, Kahuta Road, Islamabad.

And

Technical Advisor, Alternative Energy Development Board,

337-B, Prime Minister's Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan.

I

could offer attractive applications,and the commercial exploitation ofrenewable power had not been prop-erly evaluated, which could coordi-nate with agencies and utilities in-volved in these activities. The impactof the weak institutional arrange-ments had not been able to promoteand finding ways of incorporatingthese into the mainstream energyplanning and supply mechanisms.

1.2 Regulatory Barriers

egulatory barriers to commer-cial private power generation

are being gradually addressed in Pa-kistan through new institutionalarrangements, although these wouldrequire time and effort to becomefully effective. However, incorporat-ing improved regulations pertainingto commercial renewable hydel en-ergy projects would be necessary forprotecting the interests of this indus-try and to level the field vis-¨¤-vismore entrenched competitive con-ventional generation technologies.

NEPRA Act does not explicitlyimpose any obligation on the regularfor towards the promotion of renew-able energy. It is known to the inves-tor as to what kind of support mecha-nism would be provided for the pro-motion of renewable energy.Whatever, the regulatory tool or

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mechanism used by the regulator, itis imperative for the commercial vi-ability of small hydel project that theinvestor is able to recover prudentlyincurred costs and also earn an ad-equate rate of return on investment.

1.3 Financial Barriers

inancial and fiscal incentivescan play an instrumental role

in attracting or discouraging privatei n v e s t m e n t i n r e n e w a b l etechnologies. The Government ofPakistan has plans to devise a fiscalregime specifically for commercial re-newable hydel resource-based powergeneration similar to the one it suc-cessfully implemented for thermalpower projects.

Front-end cost of hydel plantis typically higher in comparison toconventional energy technology. Inaddition, there may be cost of initialdevelopment that need to berecovered. Therefore, financing re-quirements can pose an obstacle. Thefinancing of small projects may bedifficult, if as the experience with IPPssuggests lenders have preference forbig projects. The financial institu-tions are generally not geared to fi-nance renewable energy projects, asthere are no records of experience ofrenewable energy to rely upon, un-like conventional IPP projects, where

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a large crop of professionals are fa-miliar with loan syndication and otherfinancial instruments.

1.4 Technology and Informa-tion Barriers

ack of general awareness, tech-nological knowledge, R, D &

D and detailed information on theavailable renewable hydel potentialand energy markets in the countryseriously impedes consideration ofalternative energy options in the de-cision-making process, at both thenational policy-making and investorplanning levels. Such mature tech-nologies as small, micro & mini hydelfor suitable areas of applications, es-pecially in remote locations, have notbeen properly assessed for implemen-tation in Pakistan because of igno-rance of relevant technical and costconsiderations or the absence ofsound data on which to devise re-newable energy solutions.

1.5 Policy Barriers

he policy for Power Generationof 2002 has included the de-

velopment renewable sources of en-ergy but without any thrust on theirdevelopment. No special effort wasindicated to focus on mobilizing tech-n ica l advancemen t in thesetechnologies. This has created avacuum in dissemination of informa-tion to create awareness in terms ofknowledge and technological charac-teristics of renewable energy produc-tion and use. The policy makers donot feel comfortable. This barrierleads to prolonged delays and lostopportunities. The constitution of theAlternative Energy DevelopmentBoard (AEDB) is a step in the rightdirection.

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To design, develop and demon-strate various types of small, mini& micro hydel turbines to bemanufactured locally.

To improve the quality of localturbines.

To design & develop controllers& governors

To establish linkages amongindustries, universities and R&Dinstitutions.

To win the confidence of the peopleabout the advantage of small, mi-cro & mini hydel turbine.

People should be able to get plant,equipment easily from the marketto install without much civilstructure.

These objectives can be metwith the R, D & D Laboratories to fo-cus on the design, local development,manufacture & site testing of thehydel turbines and associatedequipment. This would help to con-firm local proven design of small, mi-cro hydel electrical & mechanical (E& M) equipment to provide with guar-antees from the local manufactures.This would facilitate local availabil-ity of cheap hydel turbines from theopen/local market and simple instal-lation of hydel power plants.

A f t e r e c o n o m i c a l l o c a lmanufacturing, private parties caninstall with little civil work & capitalcost. It will be easy to maintain byproviding training to local people andelectricity can be cheaply generatedwithout becoming burden on na-tional grid. These would be competi-tive with the rural electrification byWAPDA by extending grid.

There is no research & designlab for hydel turbines & equipmentin Pakistan, therefore it is proposedto establish Research, Developmentand Demonstration (R, D & D) Labo-

ratory to meet the objectives asprescribed.

2.1 R, D & D Laboratory

tarting from the basic informa-tion existing in Pakistan and

to catch with the up-to date researchand development of advanced tur-bine models, this R D& D Lab wouldfocus its activities on micro and smallhydropower units in the range of afew kW to 5 MW, with tailored de-sign to fulfill the sites & customerr e q u i r e m e n t s . H i g h t u r b i n eperformance, a standardized ap-proach to the turbine concept, tur-bine components and the controlsystem, use of other well-knownequipment producers, workshoperection and standardized commis-sioning will result in the price com-petitive performance solutions for themost demanding clients. Standardized& proven equipment reduces theclient's dependence on the producerduring the equipment lifetime and re-duces maintenance costs to the ab-solute minimum. Refurbishment ofsmall hydropower plant equipment isalso planned based on the interna-tional accumulated knowledge ofmany refurbished turbines andgovernors.

2.2 Turbine R & D

he turbine R & D Departmentwould focus on analysis to

meet local conditions of all types ofCross Flow, Pelton, Francis, Kaplan,Zero head Tipu and bulb turbinemodels, site testing and all activitiesrelated to turbine and refurbishment.Internationally & locally various tur-bine type experiences, modelsdeveloped, and model tests wouldlead to accumulation of experienceand knowledge which would help toguarantee internationally competitiveperformances and very reliable test-ing facilities, measuring procedures

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and accuracy of results.

Turb ine mode l s wi l l bedesigned, produced and tested ac-cording to the latest internationalengineering standards and to meet allrequirements for modern turbinemodel testing.

2.3 Basic Research

Main research areas plannedare:

Research and development of hy-draulic shapes & profiles for allparts of turbines, pumps.

Research and development in thefield of numerical flow analysis:

Numerical flow analysis of tur-bines & pumps.Numerical prediction of the ef-ficiency diagram.Development of optimizationmethods.Reduction of model testing byprevious experience.Verification of numerical resultsby experimental work.Cavitation research by meansof experimental and numericalmethods.Cooperation with national andinternational universities,institutes, industries andcompanies.

2.4 Development & modeltesting

Hydraulic design of various tur-bines based on experiences,gained by systematic researchand fluid flow analysis.

Optimization of old turbine geom-etry concerning efficiency, cavi-tation performance, capacity andvibration in accordance with spe-cial customer requests.

Model acceptance tests in accor-dance with the IEC standard.

Fluid flow analysis (2D and 3D

flow) in a hydraulic machine'sstationary and rotating parts, withprediction of its energetic andcavitation characteristics.

Experimental measurements of ve-locity distribution in various sta-tionary parts using a Laser Dop-pler anemometer, 3 and 5-holeprobes and hot-wire anemometry.

Fundamental cavitation researchby means of experimental and nu-merical methods.

Research and study of dynamicturbine behavior in various oper-ating regimes on model andprototype, and transfer of the re-sults from model to prototype.

Design and development of testrigs for model testing with in-house data acquisition software.

Technical, engineering and tech-nological consulting for evalua-tion and appraisal of hydro tur-bine performance.

2.5 Turbine refurbishment

Pre-feasibility studies of existinghydropower generating units.Analysis of turbine parameters,formulation of methods, predic-tion & diagnose of fault and de-terioration repair, recommendingof possible improvements.

Turbine redesign and model de-velopment for refurbishedturbines.

Model testing of existing and re-designed turbines.

Specific refurbishment projectsfor all turbine types and sizes.

lectricity being backbone ofeconomy, the large untapped

identified more than 42,000 MW hydelpotentials provide an opportunity for

development in a sustainablemanner. The large planned projectswould be multipurpose for irrigation,water storage, flood control. Devel-opment of hydel power would bebyproducts money earning sourceand instrumental to control the ab-normal increase in electricity tariff.The base load requirements can bemet through the development ofhydel storage dams while peakingdemands can be met through highhead peaking daily storage projects.This way this provides golden op-portunities for meeting the powerdemand at competitive prices, elec-trification of villages and develop-ment of economy and social servicesto the people. These projects repre-sent a secure long-term income withmanageable low risks, which repre-sents an opportunity.

Nature has provided thousandshigh head hydropower sites of a largevariety mostly in mountains ofHimalayas and side hills. In suchcases dams are replaced and substi-tuted by weirs for diversion of waterfrom the creeks and provide storage,although small in capacity but largein energy contents due to high heads.So far only 81 sites with 8,880 MWhave been studied for details. Thereare also thousand of low head mini,micro & small hydropower sites lo-cated near to the load center at bar-rages and artificial irrigation canals.At present only 8 sites on barragewith expected capacity of 670 MW,and on canals 539 sites with 510 MWcapacity have been taken in theinventory. There are no hydrologyor geology problems on these provensites. All these hydropower projectsare environment friendly, as will haveno or very little negative impact onenvironment, which can be mitigatedeasily. The most significant featureof these projects in that these will

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not emit any gas and would help tocurb global warming, since they re-place thermal power plants. Develop-ment of these rich potential provideseconomic benefits, jobs, save foreignexchanges, forests, environments etc.These provide secure long-term in-come stream with limited risks. Man-ageable low risk represents anopportunity. Investors can undertakedevelopment of huge wealth of hydelprojects with confidence based uponthe quantification of analysis and pro-posed mitigation mechanism.

The natural gift of MightyIndus, main river of Pakistan, is oneof the largest rivers of the world, hav-ing a length of 2900km. It has a totaldrainage area of 1,165,500 km2 ofwhich 453,00 km2 lies in Himalayanmountains and foothills and rest inthe semi erid plains. Its long-term av-erage flow is almost 137 million acrefeet (MAF) twice that of Nile. All smalland large streams/rivers of the basindrain into Indus river. The opportu-nities of hydel potential can be imag-ined from the 37 MAF of water afterinland use leftover, being annuallydelivered to sea, coming from eleva-tion of above, 5,000 meters.

One of the studies carried out inearly 80's for putting Pakistan's waterresources into its optimum use, withthe assistance of Canadian Govt.through consultant Montreal Engi-neering prepared an inventory andranking list of various sites. As a re-sult of this study Basha Dam (nowcalled Diamer) site (with or withoutKalabagh) was found attractive andbased on this other major hydroelec-tric schemes and ranking are available.During 1990, GTZ of Germany andHEPO of WAPDA prepared a com-prehensive inventory of the highheads in mountains and available lowhead hydropower potential at exist-ing irrigation canal falls & barrages

on the river.

3.1 Challenges

he biggest challenge is in theimplementation of develop-

ment hydro power plans prepared onshort, medium and long term basis.

Short term plan:08 projects = 792 MW

Medium term plan:16 projects = 6,130 MW

Long term plans:16 projects = 15,633 MW

Their execution require aboutUS$ 0.8 billion for short term; US$ 8billion for medium term and US$ 29billion for long term projects.

The investment required for thedevelopment of hydropower poten-tial is large so for an optimum utiliza-tion a systematic approach isimperative. Therefore following stepsare required/being followed to meetthe challenges:

Inventories of potential sites, in-cluding their hydro-meteorologicalmodeling, hydrological gauging,topographical and geologicalmapping, geographical informa-tion system (GIS), and data banketc.

Alternative development sce-narios with in a hybrid supplysystem.

Prioritization to be considered byfollowing certain defined criteria.

Detail investigations of sites andbankable feasibility studies.

Professional institutions re-vamp-ing for self-sustaining develop-ment

Education, training and publicawareness enhancement.

Refinement and updating of database about hydrology by install-ing more gauging stations. Thedata bank although have been ex-panded by GTZ (Pakistan-GermanTechnical Co-operation) to in-

clude assessments of high headhydro potentials on importanttributaries by installing 60 newriver gauging stations, but eventhen there is a need to further ex-tend the hydro meteorologicalnetwork. This data Bank is neces-sary to provide all kinds of basicinformation to investors and de-velopers about geological ,geographic, discharge data, andsedimentation for all seasons andfor extensive number of years.This will provide reliable designinputs.

Integrated development of thetransmission system in order toachieve optimum economic dis-patch of power for base and peak-ing requirements.

To clearly define the water rightsand royalties or net hydel profits.

Removal of the social or tribal ten-sions of the effected area.

Improvements and augmentationof infrastructure and communica-tion system.

Mode of implementation of eachproject (i.e) public, private orpartnership.

Management for timely implemen-tation of projects.

Feasibility studies to be preparedby following definite guidelines sothat process is standardized for ob-jectively comparison of results ofvarious projects. The proceedingsto be transparent and monitoredat required milestones. This wouldhelp in preparing the feasibilitystudies to be trustworthy and ac-ceptable to all the concerned par-ties (i.e.) project sponsors,investors, funding agencies,developers, banks Government in-stitutions etc.

Monitor the implementation of

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Quality Assurance Programme.

Modus operandi to monitorprogress of implementation ofprojects.

3.2 Recommendations to Miti-gate Barriers

1) Creates conducive & attractive in-vestment environments

2) Provide freely information andguidelines for investors as a handyproject portfolio.

3) Overcome bureaucratic attitude byeffective one window operation.

4) Political and policy changes tobuild census among all the provincesand areas.

5) Confidence of environmentalist,investors & local people to be won.

6) Start education & training in theUniversities to prepare team ofengineers, technicians, and hu-man resources.

7) Design assumption should opti-mize and take care of natural risks.

8) Expedite preparation of maximum

number of bankable feasibilitystudies. These are time consumingbut are the basis for intelligent deci-sions by investors.

9) Build up & strengthen institutionalarrangements especially addressinghydel power development.

10) Arrangements of professionalso n c o n t r a c t s f o r d e s i g n ,manufacturing, construction, opera-tion & maintenance etc.

11) Model agreements to be madeavailable for:

Power purchase

Water use license

Implementation arrangements

Risk compensation

Two part tariff

Insurance of performance etc.

12) Provide analysis of risk events,potential consequences, mitigationoptions, responsibilities, risk carriersand cost to the project.

13) Accountability required againstcorruption, red-tapisim to establishtransparency and motivation.


14) Development of local manufac-turing capabilities for equipment ofpower technology according to lo-cal requirements.

15) Planning and technical capabili-ties to be promoted.

16) Regulatory Authority NEPRA tobe autonomous to play independent& effective role for tariff approvaland economic dispatch to win theconfidence of investors.

17) Competitive tariff should com-prise of any energy purchase priceand capacity purchase price withadequate provisions for escalations.The capacity price should be about60-70% of total tariff. The energypurchase price should be re-struc-tured so that investor and operatorhas an incentive to regulate dailyvariations in water flows to ensure"peaking functions" of the high headhydels.

18) Government should guaranteetha t t he t e rms o f execu tedagreements, including paymentsterms, are maintained faithfully.

2005 SHP training for African Participants Closed

electricity. Mali participant introduced that the

electricity coverage in the country is only 12%

and in the rural area less than 1%. The situation

in other countries is similar. After visits to SHP

stations and manufacturers in China, participants

felt that SHP technology in China is proven,

equipment reliable and price reasonable. Class

monitor and the participant from Mali commented

in his speech at the closing ceremony, “The

small hydropower technology in China is just

appropriate to the technical level of our Africa

countries. HRC has strong expertise in SHP

training, design, consultation and complete equip-

ment supply. I sincerely hope that HRC will

continue to hold the small hydropower training

workshop to help the development of the SHP

resources in African countries.”

During the period of training workshop, a

series of SHP technical-cooperation discussions

have been conducted with the participants from

Rwanda, Congo, R.D.Congo, Mali, Niger,Guinea, etc.. In these discussions, their demand

and suggestions have been explored related to the

SHP development in their own countries, and

HRC expressed the willingness to provide assis-

tance to the SHP exploitation in these countries

in terms of either SHP planning, training, design-ing or equipment supply. Many participants pro-

vided their national future development plan on

SHP to HRC for cooperative reference, and ex-

pressed that they would push forward the coopera-

tion between HRC and their home countries, dis-

seminating China s SHP technology andexperience.

Under the powerful support of Chinese

Ministry of Water Resources, HRC upgraded its

hotel and training facilities in 2004. Nearly all the

participants were satisfied.

he 2005 International Training Workshop

on Small Hydropower for African

countries, sponsored by Chinese Ministry of

Commerce, has been held from 2nd Sep. to 26thSep. at Hangzhou Regional Center For Small

Hydro Powder (HRC). Totally 24 participants

from 13 countries (such as Morocco, Burundi,

Mali, Mauritius, etc.) attended this training.

It is a challenge to adopt French in con-ducting this SHP training workshop for French-

speaking countries, the first kind since the estab-

lishment of HRC in 1981. Staff of HRC Secre-

tariat actively learn French and try every way to

organize it well. The satisfactory interpretation

by the specially invited foreign interpreter who isproficient in French, English and Chinese pro-

moted the quality of the whole training workshop.

Meanwhile, we have been striving to seek the

teachers who can directly present in French.

African countries face severe shortage of

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Abstract

n terms of hydropower re-sources in the country, Nepal

ranks second in the world. But it hasnot acted seriously in terms ofutilization. The effort began from theRana days when they ruled the coun-try for more than century. For energy,unfortunately, the country has attimes sought thermal source ratherthan hydropower.

For energy needs, it first de-pended upon foreign aid in the ear-lier dates. As late as in the '60s, itdepended upon such assistancerather than developing its own. Somuch so, that it imported electricalpower from neighbouring country.Later, it was developed both underforeign aid as well the multilateralassistance and loan. The electricitygeneration gradually became moreand more costly. Only later, genuineprivate sectors have joined the en-ergy market. But the terms and con-ditions have not always been in thenational interest. There is a widevariation in cost of energy under dif-ferent conditions of power develop-ment in the country, from the cheap-est to the costliest. Both for genera-tion and distribution, Nepal ElectricCorporation should no longer con-tinue its monopoly. Private sectorshould be promoted given more roleto play for economy and operation.

The paper discusses the differ-ent options available and practisedin Nepal.

Private Sector Participation in Electricity Generation and Distribution

Ramesh C Arya,PhD, South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE),

PO Box 4360, Kathmandu, Nepal

IIntroduction

epal is endowed with rich wa-ter resources. The topography

of the country stretches from the Mt.Everest (Sagarmatha) 8800 m to 25macross a width of 150 km. Number ofrivers mostly originate from theHimalayas and go down to India inthe south. A number of sites are suit-able for hydro-power generation. Itcould be one river with a number ofhydropower sites. For example,Kulekhani project under Japaneseassistance has been gradually furtherdeveloped for two such sites. Khimtihydropower developed by Norway isalso finding additional sites few kilo-meters away. The alternative sites arethere in the Seti River. Having suchsites in the river offer manyadvantages.

Nepal has hydropower poten-tial of 84,000 MW and economicallyexploitable is 34,000 MW. In thebeginning, the effort for hydropowerutilization was only at the govern-ment level. But many friendly coun-tries and later private sector havecome up for explorat ion andutilization. Their degrees of interestand efforts were different. The nationitself must be serious in the matter ofnational interest.

Early Power

he exploitation of hydropowerresource in Nepal started in

1911 with the 500 kW Phirping PowerHouse in the Kathmandu Valley. Thefirst external assistance for hydro-power development was from USSR

Nand 640 kW Panauti Hydropower wasbuilt in Panauti for Kathmandu. Theincreasing needs in the capital werelater fulfilled by diesel generators.Much later in 1972, the 10,000 kW hy-dropower was developed under theChinese aid at Lamo Sanghu on wayto the Tibetan border in the North.Later several international govern-ment and international agencies camein for hydropower development inNepal. Kulekhani (stage 1, 2 and now3) and Marsyangdi projects were un-der Japanese and Germany undermulti lateral assistance with a numberof strings attached and grace periodvarying from 23 to 40 years.

Agencies for generation/distri-bution

ower generation and distribu-tion was under the Department

of Electricity of His Majesty’s Gov-ernment (HMG). Later, Nepal Electric-ity Corporation (NEC), a 100% gov-ernment-owned agency, took up thework later. Ts service area was con-fined the central development regionof the country. Eastern Electricity Cor-poration was also formed in the early‘70s and it worked for some years inthe Eastern Nepal as there was no na-tional grid developed then to link withthe rest. Later that too was amalgam-ated into NEC. The Corporation hadtaken over Morang Hydro inBiratnagar. Similarly other private sec-tor companies in the western regionwere taken over. Both the Departmenta n d N E C u n d e r t o o k p o w e rgeneration, transmission and distri-

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power companies. Earlier, it wouldbuy only up to 50 MW from privateparties. Now NEA will purchase allelectricity produced by Nepalesecompanies. But NEA has not changedthe rate of power it purchases fromNepalese companies. It is Rs 3 andRs 4.25 per unit in the wet and dryseasons respectively. This rate is notvalid for international companies.

NEA pays exorbitant electricity-price to Independent Power Produc-ers (IPP) as some hydropower expertsagree. With inflation over the years,NEA now pays seven cents per unitto Khimti and Bhote Koshi projects.The authority does not even earnback from its customers what itspends to plug into their homes elec-tricity from the two IPPs. The rate isgets jacked up to 11 cents adding tech-nical loss, transmission and distribu-tion costs. That translates into eightrupees per unit. Now compare what itcharges to its clients for the sameelectricity: not even seven rupees perunit. The NEA incurred loss of morethan one billion dollars in power pur-chase from private producers, Khimtiand Bhote Koshi, in the fiscal year2000-2001. NEA had bought powerworth Rs. 2.3 billion that year but turn-over from the electricity was only Rsone billion. Currently 42 percent ofNEA's income goes to these twocompanies. In contrast, the powerfrom the 20 MW Chilime and 3 MWPiluwa Khola, both of which haveb e e n c o n s t r u c t e d b y l o c a linvestment, is much cheaper.

NEA's average electricity tariffis Rs. 6.81 per unit, which is amongthe highest in the world. This ismainly because of high cost of con-

struction and the high price of powerpurchased from Khimti and BhoteKosi power projects, the two IPPs,which has to be paid for in dollars.

Energy For Export

rom western to eastern regionsof the country, the rivers origi-

nate from the Himalayas in the Northand flow down to terai (plains) inthe south and meet the Ganges ofIndia. Nepal shares border with In-dia in the north, east and south. Theadjoining Indian states of UttarP radesh , t he newly - fo rmedUttaranchal and Bihar have frequentpower cuts due to shortage of power.Both in Bangladesh and India, addi-tional power is in demand as the fol-lowing figures say. The West Zoneof Bangladesh wants additionalpower. Several other states of Indiaalso are short of power. The powershortage in neighbouring states ofIndia, Bihar and UP are very acute.

Similarly, the West Zone ofBangladesh is considered to be indeficit of electricity as shown below:

Currently, its requirements aremet by thermoelectric plants basedon imported fuel and supply from theindigenous gas plants transmittedover the 220 kV Eas t -Wes tInterconnection. During the nextdecade, Bangladesh is likely to facedeficit of up to 1,800 MW. There willbe a shortage of 600 MW in the WestZone. The deficits in the comingdays are shown in the following table.

Cost Effective Projects

he power needs of the regionmay be fulfilled by Nepal.

Generation works may be taken up

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bution works for some time. Nationalgrid, linking the East and West, wasgradually developed all along theEast–West (Mahendra) Highway ofthe country. Later NEC was reorga-nized as Nepal Electricity Authority(NEA), a lesser bureaucratic organi-zation for generation, transmissionand distribution of energy. The ser-vices could be undertaken by otherstoo. But only toward generation, someagencies have joined in the privatesector. Butwal Power Company hastaken up distribution and transmis-sion in selected area. It has electrifies15,000 households.

Inconsistent Generation Ef-forts

he energy needs go on in-creasing as it is provided to

larger section of people as well as forindustrial and others consumptionneeds. There may be a big leap if thereis a significant growth of energy in-tensive industries. The biggest setback was when the World Bankdropped the 400 MW Arun III withreservations such as “preservation ofaquatic life in the Himalayas”.

When the supply side laggedbehind, and demand was growing atdouble digit rate, and at a time, Nepalfulfilled its need even by importingelectricity from India though theagreement was to supply to eachother from convenient locations. ButNepal was, in net terms, the importeruntil 2000 after which Nepal hadenough energy from the Kali Gandaki‘A’ project. It was increasingly feltthat NEC alone should not be de-p e n d e d o n g e n e r a t i o n a n ddistribution.

Electricity from Private Sector

EA has removed the limit onthe amount of power that can

be purchased from Nepalese hydro-


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several reasons delaying its comple-tion and thus affecting the nationaldevelopment. In others, there are somany options that the country can-not decide, which options to take upfor implementation.

Considering the present condi-tion of poor availability of power forspecific region in the country, if those

sites are used for lesser power devel-opment or selecting the one for powerdevelopment at a site damaging thefull potentials of those sites, their util-ity for further exploitation may bedoomed for ever.

Indian Co-operation Delayed

ndia has helped Nepal throughseveral hydro power projects.

In some cases, the power came as“by-products” of irrigation projectssuch as on the Koshi and the Gandakirivers. The hydropower as by-prod-ucts in the two water projects failedafter ten years, due to excessivesandings and there have been no ef-fort to revive them. Both of them havebeen closed now but the irrigationworks continue. The projects servelarger area in India than in Nepal.

India has signed several co-op-eration projects but in most of them,timely implementations are stillawaited. It has very ambitiously taken

up some projects in which other pro-moters had taken interest but weredelaying. The Pancheswar Barrageunder the Mahakali Treaty (namedafter the Mahakali River in westernNepal) was to produce 6,480 MW ofenergy. Under the treaty, it was to becompleted in 8 years. But nothingconcrete has taken shape yet.

Indian interest in three riverprojects are illustrated below. Theyhave yet to see the light of day. Threeexamples may be quoted:

a. The Budhi Gandaki Project

The Budhi Gandaki Project wasproposed in the Panchayat days(1961-1990) in the country. It wasagreed together with TanakpurProject in December 6, 1991 when theNepalese Prime Minister made a good-will visit to India. The project was tobe started in 1994. It was removedfrom the list in 1995 and added againin 2002 and that India will do the de-signing work.The concrete work forpower is a matter of distant future.

b. The West Seti Project

In 1992, on behalf of the FrenchGovernment, a French company hadcompleted and submitted study ofWest Seti Hydroelectric Project. Itcapacity will be 360 MW. Thegovernment, gave the developmentlicense to Snowy Mountain Engineer-ing Company (SMEC) of Australia in1994. The agreement with the Depart-ment of Electricity Development(DOED) and the Company had provi-sion of 10% generated power to Nepal.The second agreement was made withgovernment in 1997. The capacitywas increased to 750 MW. In the re-vised accord SMEC had now not tooffer power but pay the revenue ofthe 10 per cent power. The companyhad to provide financial managementdetails by December 2002. The com-pany applied to extend the deadline

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be NEA or other agencies in national/international agencies in the privatesector. Past experience of hydro-power development in Nepal and In-dia has shown that Nepalese projectsare more cost effective. A compara-tive capital cost study for earlierprojects in the two countries aregiven below:

- Indian Project Cost estimatesfrom TERI< exchange rate at 36 Rs./kW, Nepalese cost estimates fromNepal Master Plan, The projects areexcluding IDC and transmissioncosts.

Source: Nepal, Power SectorDevelopment Strategy (DraftReport), The World Bank, June 7,1999

Delaying for the Right Time

everal prominent sites areavailable in Nepalese rivers for

hydropower development and theyare suitable for in-country consump-tion as well as for export promotion.The sites may wait for the right timewhen the developers, Nepalese orothers, may be interested.

Some sites have been selectedby hydropower developers and startthe preliminary works later. Theyhave stopped taking further interestsor the works are handicapped for



the 300 MW Karnali Hydro-electric-ity Project. In the joint venturecompany, India would put in 49 per-cent of the total estimated cost ofUS$500 million. The two sides had toprepare the Detailed Project Report(DPR). India will buy the power gen-erated from Upper Karnali.

As per the latest development(November 2004), China Machineryand Equipment Export and ImportCorporation (CEMEC) and SnowyMountain Engineering Corporation(SMEC) with 70% and 30% invest-ment will develop the project at a costof Rs 6700 million. By the middle of2005, the construction work will start.The government will get 2% royaltyand 10% of the 750 MW power. PowerTrade Corporation of India will buythe power at 4.95 cent per KW. Therate is half the prevalent rate in Nepal.

c. The Upper Karnali Project

In 1998, the World Bank did thefeasibility study through Delta PacificConsortium. An agreement wassigned by the Ministry of Water Re-sources (MoWR) and the Consortiumin 2000. The license was issued bythe Ministry to the Ellece FrontiersCompany had offered 30% share toNEA. The license ended on January,2002. Later when the Nepalese PrimeMinister was on visit to India in Au-gust 2002, the project was offered toIndia “as per the understandingreached in 1999 for the medium sizeprojects”. This was to be a jointproject on NHPC and NEA. But noth-ing concrete is heard there after.

So far, hydropower develop-ment efforts have been on govern-ment-to-government level. There isp rov i s ion fo r o the r so r t o farrangement. State as well as semi-government organization can enterinto hydropower developmentprojects. Several private companies

are generating power in India. Butperhaps they have to seek permissionfrom Centre for seeking such anagreements with foreign bodies.

Energy Purchase Price

t present, the energy purchaseprice is Rs.4.2 for dry season

and Rs.3.00 for the wet season forsmall hydro (<10MW), whereas formedium and large hydro projects it isbeing fixed on the basis of bargaining.NEA has already bought 121 MW ofelectricity through PPA with privatesector, including 5 MW MailunKhola, 10 MW Langtang Khola, 2.6MW Sunkoshi and 1 MW Barmachi.

Hydropower Projects 2002/3

EA has 10 major hydroProjects (existing) under pub-

lic sector NEA: Sunkosi, Trishuli,Devighat, Gandak, Kulekhani-I,Kulekhani-II, Marysnagdi, PuwaKhola, Modi Khola and Kali Gandaki“A” with a total generation capacityof 389,150 kW.

There are six projects under pri-vate sector. NEA has signed powerpurchase agreements (PPA) on AndhiKhola (5,100 kW) and Jhimruk (12,300kW) of BPC. Khimti Khola 6(0,000kW) and Bhote Koshi (36,000 kW).Chilime is of 20,000 kW. Sange Kholaand Indrawati are of 183 kW and 7500kW respectively. According to NEA,Three projects of a total of 7,100 kWis in progress. Preliminary works for6 projects of a total of 31,844 kW is inprogress in fiscal year 2002/3. In theprivate sector, Andhi Khola (5.1 MW)and Jhimruk (12 MW) are underButwal Power Company (BPC),Khimti Khola under Himal Power Lim-ited (HPL), Bhote Kosi under BhoteKosi Power Company (BKPC),Indrawati-III under National HydroPower Company (NHPC) and SangeKhola under Sange Hydro Power

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for the fifth time just before the ex-piry of the deadline.

Power Trading Corporation(PTC) of India nodded to purchasethe electricity at per unit price of 5.12US cent. The price was revised afterPTC in the 2000 declined to pay theearlier quoted per unit price of 7 UScents. In the time that elapsed be-tween 1994 and 2004, several newpower projects, large and small, havecome up.

The delay in the private sectorproject was taken up by the Austra-lian government. In January end 2004,the CEO Sylvain Jean Leveaque ofthe Singapore-based French humani-tarian trust came to Nepal to reacti-vate Upper Karnali project. The 300MW project cost US$ 470 million.

The company, Elysee Frontiere,is working in association with a localprivate company to resurrect theproject. The development came 27months after the French Trust signedthe PPA with the NEA. Under theagreement, signed in October 2001,NEA would buy 50 per cent of thepower at Rs 1.45 per unit, while theprice of the remaining 50 per cent wasagreed at Rs 2.90. (US$ 1=Rs 74) Theproject was already gone as theElysee Frontiere board held in Lon-don in June 2002 had already can-celled the US$ 500 million fund allo-cated for Upper Karnali.

India’s National HydropowerCorporation (NHPC) officers arrivedto prepare the groundwork for thedevelopment of Upper Karnali, nearlyfive months after Nepal and Indiaagreed to jointly develop the hydro-electric project. Hong Kong-basedHong Kong Shanghai Bank (HSBC)had already issued US$ 250 millionworth bank guarantee for the venturein Nepal. On February 2004, the NEAand NHPC agreed to jointly develop



private sector is thus coming up bothfor generation and distribution.

NEA has already bought 121MW of electricity through PPA withprivate sector, including 5 MWMailun Khola, 10 MW LangtangKhola, 2.6 MW Sunkoshi and 1 MWBarmachi.

Foreign Investment in Firsthydropower projects

hote Kosi and Khimti are thefirst two hydropower projects

with foreign investment. But the com-panies could not work smoothly. The60 MW Khimti hydropower projecthas 87% investment from Norwayand 13 % Nepalese Investment. Per-mission for construction was grantedin 1993 and agreement for sales in1994. Commercial production in June2000. The Project will run solely forthe first 20 years and jointly for theextra 30 years and later handed overto HMG. The $100 million BhoteKoshi hydropower project started in1993 and went on stream in 2000. Thepower plant is near the Chineseborder. It has a capacity of 36 MW,with power of 246 GWh/year. It endedup generating 52 MW by the time itwas built. The agreement also quoted6% rise in the price every year. Thepower purchase agreements for thetwo projects were Rs 5.35 and Rs 5.19respectively. The effective rate, con-sidering transmission cost and leak-ages was Rs 7.69 and Rs 7.35respectively.

Dispute in Bhote Kosi Hydro-power

he power purchase agreementbetween Bhote Kosi and the

NEA was to buy only 36 MW at Rs 5.5per unit. But the company started bill-ing for 16 MW of extra power,amounting to nearly $100,000 permonth more than stipulated in the

agreement. There wouldn’t be any-thing wrong with that had the NEAnot already got excess capacity dur-ing the monsoon through othersources and at a cheaper rate. It wouldtherefore end up paying more thanoriginally agreed for power it won’tbe able to sell to consumers.

The NEA is under pressure fromthe Texas-based Panda Energy of theUSA. The US investors threatenedto scrap the US textile quota throughthe Senate and to stop World Bankaid to Nepal. In March 2003, Pandaoffered option to buy the project for$100 million plus interest owed to fin-anciers with a 30 percent premium.

The Department of ElectricityDevelopment (DoED) has decided inFebruary 2004 to initiate actionagainst the Bhote Koshi PowerCompany. The company will have topay the fine in three instalments—Rs900,000 every year. By the end of No-vember 2004, BPC proposed a newPPA to the government for mutualconsent. Under this, the PPA will befor 45 MW and not 36 MW, there willno annual escalation in power pur-chase agreement, and governmentwill pay $3.6 million for the energysold to NEA in the last three years.

The dispute has caused furtherdelay in the promotion of foreignprojects. Several projects are in thepipeline.

Norway for Upper Tamakoshi

orway, one of the main sup-porters of hydropower devel-

opment of Nepal, has offered its as-sistance in the 250 MW hydropowerproject on Upper Tamakoshi inDolakha district and presented a de-tailed feasibility study and thedesign. The pre-feasibility study car-ried by NEA found this project to bethe cheapest of all the other hydro-power schemes. The total investment

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Company (Sange HP).

Private Sector investment inHydropower

lectricity was a governmentbusiness until the promulga-

tion on Electricity Act 2049 whichpaved the way for private Sector forinvestment. Under the Electricity Act,one could get license to “generate,transmit and distribute electricity for50 years”. The “Build, Own, Operateand Transfer” (BOOT) agreements inthe ‘90s paved the way for Khimti andBhote Koshi Projects. In the 12 yearperiod, Khimti (60 MW), Bhote Kosi(36 MW), Chilime (20 MW), Piluwa (3MW), Indrawati (7 MW), Syange (183MW) etc are generating and distrib-uting hydropower. Different projectof 14 MW are under construction. 46projects of 95 MW got the license andare in process to get the studied,power purchase agreement andinvestment.

Nepali Banks have spent aboutRs 4 billion and investment from theIPPs is estimated at Rs 3 billion. SmallHydropower Policy 1998. The contri-bution of IPPs in power generationwas 35% in 2002-03. The growth ofSHPs is attributed to flexibility in in-vestment by local financers, sincethere is unscrupulous conditionalitylike the loan assistance from the multi-lateral banks or donors.

The contribution of IPPs inpower generation was 35% in 2002-03. The growth of SHPs is attributedto flexibility in investment by localfinancers, since there is unscrupulousconditionality like the loan assistancefrom the multi-lateral banks or donors.Nepali Banks have spent about Rs 4billion and investment from the IPPsis estimated at Rs 3 billion. They aregradually coming up for largerprojects. Chilime projects, for one, isstarted by the employees of NEA. The


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hydropower plants of 6,540 kW and1,750 plants are to be developed infiscal year 2004/05.

Performance of SHPs have beensatisfactory. Assistance from differ-ent international agencies are avail-able for small hydropower develop-ment projects: For Peltric Sets i) upto 3kW, grant of Rs 55,000 per kWand ii) for 3 kW-100 kW Rs 70,000 perkW. They are also encouraged to useenergy efficient lamps so that elec-tricity reaches to more and morepeople. In the Rural Electrificationsector, His Majesty’s Government(HMG) gives grants for projects ofup to 500 kW. 5,000 kW of energy isproduced under this programme andit has benefited 35,000 families.

Several villages are away fromthe grid lines and they may not ex-pect power in the normal course. Pri-vate entrepreneurs and the villagecommunities are themselves comingup for SHPs. There are some inter-esting records. After the establish-ment of Energy Support AssistanceSupport (ESAP) the subsidy policyas well as the installation processhave been revised. Performance ofSHPs have been satisfactory. Assis-tance from different internationalagencies are available for small hy-dropower development projects: ForPeltric Sets up to 3kW, grant of Rs55,000 per kW and for 3 kW-100 kWRs 70,000 per kW. They are also en-couraged to use energy efficientlamps so that electricity reaches tomore and more people. Subsidy at therate of Rs 27,000 per kW for more thanfive-days walking distance, Rs 8,750for 2 to 5 days of walking distance.50% of Rehabilitation cost of theproject up to the estimated cost toRs 53,000 per kW is being provided.

The Rural Electrification sector,HMG gives grants for projects of upto 500 kW. 5,000 kW of energy is pro-

duced under this programme and ithas benefited 35,000 families. Micro-hydro (MH) technology has been dis-seminated in about 60 districts ofNepal. About 15 companies have in-stalled these plants during the pastthree and half decades. In addition tothese companies there are severalgovernment, semi-government, non-government organizations involvedin dissemination of micro-hydropower in the country. Turbines formilling purpose accounts for over 80percent of the existing micro-hydroschemes in Nepal. These schemes areused in a range of agro-processingmachines such as rice huller, grinderand oil expeller.

Rural electrification has provedto be very challenging and expensive.Providing electricity to one house-hold requires Rs. 15,000 to 30,000. TheNEA charges a subsidised rate of Rs.4 per unit from clients who consumeless than 20 units of electricity. Cur-rently about 75 percent of the NEA’sclients use less than 20 units. As aresult, the country is not earning aprofit from such hydropowerprojects. One the other hand, Nepalimports 360 million litres of keroseneper year and sells it at a loss of Rs. 8per litre. The government thus loosesRs. 2.88 billion per year on kerosenesubsidy, which comes out to be Rs.823 per household.

It is questionable that the fiveNGOs in the five development re-gions of the country is sufficient forthe promotion of micro-hydro in thecountry. In order to arrange the HMG/N and ESAP’s fund for subsidy aninterim Rural Energy Fund is estab-lished and it is managed by Alterna-tive Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC)and ESAP.

Nepal has developed nationalgrid along the Mahendra (East-West)Highway now. But getting electrical

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of the project is US$ 227 million (NRs.17 billion) i.e., 2.5 cents per unit. Thisestimate includes construction of 100km of 220 kV Transmission line and70 km road to the project site. Con-struction time for the project is esti-mated to be 7 years. The project couldbe one of the cheapest hydro projectsin Nepal, requiring US$ 1100 per kW.

The contribution of IPPs inpower generation was 35% in 2002-03. The growth of SHPs is attributedto flexibility in investment by localfinancers, since there is unscrupulousconditionality like the loan assistancefrom the multi-lateral banks or donors.Nepali Banks have spent about Rs 4billion and investment from the IPPsis estimated at Rs 3 billion. They aregradually coming up for largerprojects. Chilime projects, for one, isstarted by the employees of NEA. Theprivate sector is thus coming up bothfor generation and distribution.

Small Hydro

ith rich potential, Nepal longdreamt of large hydropower

from its 6,000 large and small rivers.As seen, the international hydro-power developers have their ownconditions and priorities and demandhigh price for development. It is hightime, the country explored its ownpotentials. Small and micro hydro canplay a pivotal role in the socio-eco-nomic upliftment of rural hilly areas,which constitute more than 75% ofthe country. There is enormous po-tential for the development of smallhydropower and the in-house capa-bility to build these small hydro plantsis already available within thecountry.

Small Hydropower Plants (SHP)of up to 100 kW have been delicensedfrom 1984 to encourage private sec-t o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n r u r a lelectrification. There are 1,750 small



and 345 kW capacity. All others areof less than 300 kW capacity. SalleriProject is under joint venture com-pany SCECO. Management of thisp l a n t i s b a s e d o n p e o p l e s ’participation. The local people alsohave shares in this company alongwith NEA and Swiss Organization. Onway to Mount Everest, the NamchePower Plant is managed by KBC, aprivate company.

Several villages are away fromthe grid lines and they may not ex-pect power in the normal course. Pri-vate entrepreneurs and the villagecommunities are themselves comingup for SHPs. There are some interest-ing records.

A. Syange Hydropower

Syange hydropower is thecheapest hydro electricity in Nepal.Generation cost of this 100 kW hy-dropower is less than Rs. 0.1 millionper kW where as the large KaliGandaki ‘A’ project is costing overRs. 0.3 million per kW. The Plant wasdeveloped at a total cost of Rs. 18million with joint investment of Rs 6.5 million from local people and theLumjung Electric Development Com-pany (LEDCO) and a Rs. 10.5 millionloan from Machhapuchhre Bank ofPokhara. This is an example to showthat local capital and local manpowercan be effectively combined to buildsmall and inexpensive hydropowerplants.

LEDCO at Ilampokhari VDC ineastern Nepal has project capacity 20kW. Installed capacity of the com-pany is 11 kW. The project cost is Rs3 million. The company provides 11watt CFL lamps (equivalent to 40 wattlamp) to the users. The facility isavailed by 200 families. Per family costfor lighting is Rs 20 per month. Theproject is supported by DANIDA(Danish International Development

Agency). Similarly, Jhankre RuralElectrification and DevelopmentProject (Second Phase) reached 4,400households with population of27,000. It got project assistance fromNORAD, a development agency ofNorway. The assistance was up to80%, HPL provided the remaining20%. The project makes a net profitper year of Rs 3.5 million. Electric tar-iff by the Jhankre Electif Project fromthe first year, distribution systemfrom second year, Electric House par-tially from the third year. In the fourthyear the project. was completed.

B. The Energy Valley (UrjaUpatyaka)

The Rural Energy DevelopmentProgram (REDP) is developingBaglung District in the Western De-velopment Region of the country,formerly known as the District of Sus-pension Bridges, now Urja Upatyakaunder the framework of CommunityMobilization (CO). The program wasinitiated in September 1997.

So far, 109 COs (50 males and 59females COs) have been formed. It hasthe following projects and the num-ber of households: Theule Khola(stream) 24 kW, 290; Kalun Khola 22kW, 230; Urja Khola 26 kW, 250; a8kW a 20 kW, and a 15 kW in PaiyunVDC, 70, 200 and 150. The 100 m fromthe tail-water of Urja Khola generates8 kW and benefits 100 households.The Rural Electricity is generated bythe community people. There is a wa-ter turbine for agro-processing gives6 kW for 32 households and SolarHome Systems (SHS). Rural bakery,poultry, hotels and restaurants, photostudios etc are sprouting. Women’sdrudgery has reduced. Theyhavemore time for IG as well as socialactivities. Schools have introducedcomputer classes. In 120 ha of barrenland now there are 194,000 seedlingshave been planted. 450 ICS have been

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energy from the national grid at allplaces of the country is not desirablespecially when connection is soughtfor sparcely populated areas at scat-tered hills. For such aeas, it may bedesirable to have isolated centres ofpower. A number of villages, mostlycombined, have opted for isolatedcentres. Initiatives at the villagerslevel have resulted in a number ofsuch hydroelectric enterprisesthroughout the country.

Power for Remote Areas

lthough it has been 90 yearss i n c e t h e c o u n t r y g o t

electricity, as of present, 40 percentof Nepal’s households have accessto electricity. For the rest of areas, forlighting purposes they are still de-pend upon costly kerosene which iscostlier to transport into hilly areas.

Projects of less than 10 MW isdesignated as Small Hydros as perNepal Law. For a 500 MW power sys-tem the small hydro will not createany problem of overproduction. Onthe contrary, it may serve as a reservefor the system also. So any numberof small hydro, which are practicallyimplementable, should be welcomed.In the 10th Five-year Plan, periodsmall hydro power plants have beenincluded to be implemented in a mas-sive scale (27 plants = 57 MW). Thisis a starting period for the IPPs to in-vest in hydropower sector.

There are 9 grid-connectedunits: Phirping (Not in operation),Panauti, Sundarijal, Phewa and Seti(Pokhara), Tinau (Butwal), BaglungTatopani and Chatara. The capacityrange from 200 kW to 3,200 kW. NEAhas 33 existing (isolated) SHPs of6,416 kW capacity, of which 12 SHPsare leased to the private sector. Ofthem, Salleri and Namche are ownedby the private sector. Only Kalikotand Jhupra (Surkhet) are of 500 kW



to form a potential Glacier Lake Out-burst Flood (GLOF) by 20 percent.

D. Free Electricity Now

30 families in Kerung Village inSolukhumbu district invested in a 2kW micro-hydro plant. A few yearsago, residents of Kerung, a village of12-hour walk from the districtheadquarters, collected Rs. 5,000each family and borrowed Rs 315,000from a bank to construct the micro-hydro plant at the local Bagam Khola.Initially they sold the electricity to allhouseholds at the government rateand as the loan have been paid off,each house gets one light-point free.They have sold excess electricity tohouses in the neighbouring villageand paid the debt and now enjoy freeelectricity.

E. Water Pipe for Electricity

The Nete VDC of Gulmi Districtuse 750 Watt of electricity generatedout of the water pipe that passesthrough the village. The 4-way tankand pen stock pipes were used forthis purpose. It received Rs 68,000 forthis purpose from GARDEP Projectand the rest from the villagers.

User Groups to Manage Ru-ral Electricity Supply

HMG is encouraging the localUsers Group. Eighteen users’ groupshave signed agreements with the NEAto manage distribution of electricityin rural areas. The NEA approved theapplication of 25 users’ groups fromacross the country seeking to man-age and distribute electricity. Accord-ing to the Community Rural Electrifi-cation Department of NEA, over 170users’ groups, cooperatives andNGOs have so far applied for manag-ing distribution of electricity invillages. NEA board last year ap-proved the Community ElectricityDistribution Regulation, 2003 allow-

ing users’ groups, cooperatives andNGOs to manage e lec t r ic i tydistribution. The government is en-titled to invest funds amounting to80 per cent of the rural electrificationcost initially, while the localorganisations should have a share of20 per cent as a counter fund. Enjoy-ing the ownership of operation andmaintenance of the electricity distri-but ion system local ly , theseorganisations are entitled to act asfully autonomous institutions.

Near Kathmandu, South LalitpurRural Electricity Co-operative Society,in co-ordination with NEA, is vyingfor distribution of electricity to the 19VDCs. Just five percent of thecountry’s rural population and 18 per-cent of the total population enjoyselectricity. The co-operative societycollected Rs 164.4 million and thegovernment provided Rs 230.8 million.

International Concern

he UN Symposium on Hydro-power and Sustainable Devel-

opment in Beijing on October 27-29,2004 passed the ‘Beijing Declaration’which called for tangible action tohelp developing countries financesustainable hydropower throughloans and grants. It recognizes theWorld Bank and regional develop-ment banks’ plans to re-engage, butcalled for similar commitments frombilateral agencies to assist in the de-velopment of affordable and sustain-able hydropower. It also urged de-veloping-country governments tocreate a favourable environment forco-financing from private investors,including strengthening “a transpar-ent regulatory framework”. As seen,the declaration is very pertinent forhydropower development in Nepal.

installed. 18 toilet-attached biogashave been installed.

C. High Altitude Micro-HydelProject

On October 2003, the micro hy-dro project at the highest place in theworld was completed in the region ofTsho Rolpa situated in RolwalingValley of Dolakha District in centralNepal. The project generates 14 kWof electricity from the Chhoroipa gla-cier at 4,580 metres in GaurishankarVDC. Earlier, a 20 kW project was builtat Therangphedi at 4,500 meters. TheTsho Rolpa glacier lake in Nepal wasidentified by scientists as a potentialthreat for an outburst stands. Theglacier lake had a serious outburst in1999.

The Department of Hydrologyand Mateorology (DOHM) is push-ing for a seven-month extension onthe four-year Tsho Rolpa Glacier LakeOutburst Flood Risk ReductionProject (TRGRRP) after it ended inDecember 2002. The Government ofNetherlands agreed to fund the ex-tension of the project, which includeda hydropower plant with a capacityof 15 kilowatts and survey of the sur-rounding lake. The microhydro plantopens up po ten t i a l t ou r i smopportunities. Tsho Rolpa Lake isalso a trekking route. Trekkers will beable to halt at our base, see theachievements of the project and atthe same time be able to benefit elec-tricity produced in an environmen-tally friendly manner. The main ob-jective of the four-year project wasto reduce the water level sufficientlyto immediately and tangibly reducethe risk of breach forming in the natu-ral moraine dam, by the constructionof an open channel. Lowering the lakelevel has increased the freeboard ofthe dam, decreased the hydrostaticpressure within the moraine and re-duced the volume of water available


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Presentation at the Closing Ceremony ofTCDC Training Workshop on SHP for Asia-Pacific

Dear Participants, Colleagues :Our memorable training workshop is

going to an end now. It is my pleasure tosend a remark on this grand closingceremony. First of all, I’d like to expressmy warm congratulations to the full suc-cess of the workshop which has beenachieved under joint effort of HRC staffand all of you the distinguished participants.Now, I would like to talk about 5 points inthe followings :

1. The success of the workshop onceagain proves the deep insight or philoso-phy delivered by a senior official Mr.Tanaka from UNIDO, on the first Train-ing Workshop on Small Hydropower forthe Asia-Pacific in 1983 at HRC. (Unfortunately, Mr.Tanaka passed awayseveral years ago ). Upon analysis of thetechnological dependency of the develop-ing to the developed countries and the wid-ening technology gap between the twogroups of countries, he pointed out thatwell-organized training workshop would bean answer to reduce the gap. But on theother hand, in many cases the developingcountries do have such technological capa-bility and capacity, and it is a matter ofhow these existing capabilities could be ef-fectively mobilized to serve the needs ofthe countries. And it is more often thannot, a problem of “self-confidence” thatcould motivate an effective contributionof such “technical capabilities” to servethe purpose. It is for this reason thatUNIDO has preferred to call the trainingactivities not simply a “ training course “but a “training workshop “ with emphasison the latter word “workshop”. It is theactive participation of the individuals inthe excises, the debates, the thinking pro-cess and the subsequent mapping out of anaction plan ( or follow-up cooperation ac-tivities ) that would provide the partici-pants with that “ self-confidence ” to rec-ognize that after all everybody thinks thesame way and acts the same way, and thereis little difference in the “ capabilities ”except “ accumulated experience .” Al-though this statement was made more than

20 years ago, our present workshop hasfurther vividly reflected the correctness ofthis inference. As the technological capa-bilities and capacity have further been im-proved in most developing countries, thisworkshop type event is likely to be moreproper rather than a simple training course.

2.In addition to our well-preparedtechnical materials on the basis of China’sexperience of small hydropower develop-ment and well-organized workshop in bothpresenting the papers in the room and ef-fectively implementing the on-site visitto generation plants and equipmentmanufacturers, the country report presen-tation and bilateral cooperation meetingswere successively held. To my personalfeeling, the participants’ presentations areall well-prepared and well-presented whichgave deep impression to all of us. Not onlycomprehensive information and latest sta-tus of small hydropower development andeven electric industry’s development in therespective countries have been deliveredbut also some specific experiences withrespect to small hydropower developmentwere offered in the presentation, which wereof course valuable and helpful to all of us.For example, the Indian experience of pri-vate participation in the SHP developmentand their innovative mechanism for powersales and purchase activities is very inspi-rational to us. I’d suggest all the partici-pants to prepare your own papers in word-ings on the basis of your Power Point ver-sion for HRC to publicize successively onits quarterly journal << SHP-NEWS>>.

3.Throughout the whole period ofthe workshop, cordial and friendly atmo-sphere were filled in every event, animateddiscussions with substantial contents mostlyoccurred, and cooperative and construc-tive spirit were shown both in the bilateralmeetings and in the classroom discussionsas well. Here, I’d especially express ourappreciation and thankfulness to the classmonitor and chairman of the country re-port presentation for his effective effortand contribution to the co-organization ofthe workshop with HRC.

4. We have a saying in China re-cently expressing Chinese peoples’ bestwishes to build a harmonious world withpeople from other countries and regions aswas given by the 2008 Olympic Gamespreparation. May be we can also say thatin our SHP sector, we SHP people havealso set up a harmonious circle which showsboth friendship, mutual learning and coop-eration among peoples from different coun-tries with different faces, cultural and reli-gious background. All these further signifythe existence and role of the “ SHP- fam-ily ” which was usually awarded to HRC byinternational SHP people. The great Chi-nese ancient philosopher Confucius said: “In human relationship, a gentleman seeksharmony but not uniformity ” which taughtus that “ harmony without sameness is animportant principle in the developmentof all social affairs and relationships and inguiding people’s conduct and behaviors ”. Iwas especially impressed when I was toldthat our participants have had an up-closediscussion with college students here whichhad further gave you an opportunity toexchange not SHP professional knowledgebut broad cultural ideas for furthering yourunderstanding of Chinese people in a widersense. Hope that all the activities you haveengaged in China will be helpful to build up“ confidence ” in setting up cooperationwith China and for you to act as a bridge ofmutual cooperation between our countries.

5.Last but not least, although we allknow that the S-S cooperation is now un-dergoing an expansion from TCDC toECDC, but I’d still stress that these shouldalso be further understood of its expansionto trade and investment. So, the prospectof our future cooperation could be summa-rized as “T+E+T+I ”. We look forward tohearing from you of any follow-up eventproposals after going back home. We willof course do our best to offer our contribu-tion in promoting the SHP developmentworldwide, including your particularcountry.

Thank you.

Zhu Xiaozhang, Honorary Director of HRC


SHP in China

A Summary of 2005 SHP Training Workshop for Asia-Pacific Countries

The 2005 TCDC (TechnicalCooperation among DevelopingCountries) Training Workshop onSHP for Asia-Pacific Countries washeld from 20 Oct to 28 Nov 2005by Hangzhou Regional Centre forSmall Hydro Power (HRC). At-tended altogether 30 participantsfrom 16 countries of Asia, Africa,Eastern Europe and Latin America.At the closing, Mr. Zhu, the hon-orary director and founder of HRC,Ms. Cheng, deputy director ofHRC issued the certificates to theparticipants.

This training workshop whichis the 40th international SHP train-ing workshop conducted by HRCwas sponsored by Chinese Minis-try of Commerce, as one of thetechnical collaborative projectsamong the developing countries.

In addition to classroomlectures, study tours were arrangedto Shaoxing, Shengzhou, Linhai,Wenzhou, Haiyan, Ningbo, Nanjingand Shanghai, where the partici-pants felt to have benefited much.I n S h a o x i n g , S h e n g z h o u ,Xinchang and Linhai, they visitedsome SHP stations of various de-velopment types including the rub-b e r d a m a n d e q u i p m e n tmanufacturers. Visits were paid toLinhai Machinery Plant and LinhaiElectric Machine Plant where par-ticipants were able to see the wholeprocess of the hydropower equip-ment manufacturing. In Wenzhou,participants were excited to visitthe big private company Chint Cor-poration Ltd which has been fastgrowing in the recent years. Par-ticipants went to Ningbo, visiting

a pumped storage station with in-stalled capacity of 80 MW. Thisstation designed by HRC in the pastfew years was put into operationat the end of 1997. In Xiaoshan,visits were made to Hangzhou DaluElectric Equipment Co. Ltd andHangzhou Sanhe Electric Control-ling Co. Ltd. Also, days were spentin Nanjing and Shanghai —the larg-est city and port of China. InNanjing, participants paid visit toGuodian Nanjing Automation Co.Ltd and Tiexinqiao Hydraulic Ex-perimental Base which is China’slargest hydraulic experimentalbase. There, participants enjoyedwatching spectacular fireworks. Inthe coastal areas of China, partici-pants discovered the tremendouschanges in China after implement-ing opening and reforming policy.In Haiyan, participants were de-lighted to be able to visit one ofChina’s nuclear power plants —Qinshan Nuclear Power Companywhich is the first nuclear powerstation designed, constructed,tested and operated by the Chinese.

The questionnaires from theparticipants show that rate of theirsatisfaction for this SHP trainingworkshop reaches 100%.

Monitor, the Indian partici-pant Mr.Yeptho pointed out at theclosing ceremony, “We really ap-preciate and highly impressed notonly for the fabulous facilities pro-vided to us, but also for your sin-cere efforts to make all of us feelat home during our stay. The train-ing program was definitely theworld class with highly custom-ized subject methods fitting each

and every participant from differ-ent background. The training pro-gram was professionally managedwith well balanced course materials,time distributions and other curricu-lar activities.”

Entrusted by Chinese Minis-t r i e s o f Wa t e r R e s o u r c e s ,Commerce, Science & Technology,UNDP, UNIDO, ILO, FAO and etc,HRC has run around 60 SHP relatedtraining workshops for 3000participants, of whom over 700 ofthem came from over 70 countries.

This training workshop has thefollowing features:

1. More study tours werearranged, including the visits toHangzhou Dalu Electric EquipmentCo.Ltd, Hangzhou Sanhe Electric-controlled Equipment Co. Ltd, thefast developing and vigorous privateenterprises in Zhejiang province, aswell as Guodian Nanjing Automa-tion Co. Ltd. and HRC Laboratory,etc. After the visits, especially dur-ing the discussions on SHP interna-tional cooperation, many partici-pants expressed their intention toorder the governors, the turbinesand/or the TC operators.

2. In the view of the specificconditions on SHP exploration in de-veloping countries, we made cor-responding adjustment to the teach-ing material and the curriculum intime, ensuring HRC’s presentationsmore appropriate to the situation ofdeveloping countries. Meanwhile,due to the environmental issues, theinternational society pays more andmore attention to environmental pro-tection currently, so we also offered


a topic on “Environment vsEnergy”, which was highly appre-ciated by the participants and theywere extremely active in inquiryand discussion on environmentalprotection issues. Considering thatmost participants were also inter-ested in items related to SHP invest-ment and financing, we speciallyarranged a topic on “SHP”Financing”.

3. In order to meet the par-ticipants’ demands to understandChina more, we specially organizedthem to visit Zhejiang GongshangUniversity and to participate in thediscussion with the graduate stu-dents and university students. Atthis discussion, the representativesfrom four continents were askedto talk about the different impres-sion or feelings before coming toChina and staying China for morethan one month. What they feltsurprised all those present. As be-fore they came they thought Chinawas a country wi thout anyfreedom, laying an embargo on freespeech about the religion andpolitics; the police were patrollingon the street everywhere, and thecommon people were living in theplight of lacking food and clothing.The participants indicated that af-ter returning to their own countriesthey would tell their colleagues,relatives and friends what was thereal China like. Then after listeningto the introduction by the Univer-

sity and walking around the newcampus, many participants in-quired the entrance condition forinternational students with thestrong interest. The quick develop-ment of this university left a deepimpression to those participantswho excitedly indicated severaltimes that this double exchangewas surely essential and they en-joyed the great benefit from it.

4. Responding to the call ofthe Chinese central government“Water conservancy needs goingglobal”, we specially conductedseveral rounds of cooperation dis-cussion with the participants—namely our potential collaborator,such as the participants fromPakistan, India, Macedonia,Turkey, Belarus, Iran and etc.Many participants introduced the10-year hydropower plan of theirown countries to HRC, and theyhoped that HRC could supply tech-nological assistance and supportfor them, including engineeringconsultancy, equipment provision,and dispatching technical person-nel to their countries to implementthe SHP technology consultationand training. At present several co-operative agreements have alreadybeen reached.

5. In order to provide enrichedcultural and recreational activitiesto international participants, duringthe training period HRC arrangedvaried and colorful activities, such

as dance party, Kara OK, Ping-Pong match, shopping, localsightseeing, visiting China SilkMuseum, calling on HRC staff fam-ily and so on. These activities notonly make participants obtain thefull relaxation in the training period,but also promote their traditionalfriendship towards Chinese people.

2005 Training Workshop onSHP implemented by HRC was asuccess. At the closing ceremony,the monitor who was from Indiaput it: “The package of tours in-cluding site visits, sightseeing,factories, university, etc. weremarvelous. One can not expectmore than what you have arrangedfor us. If you may allow me, infact we were the luckiest peopleand the most privileged to be in thecity called paradise on earth.”

For 2006 HRC is planning toconduct two international trainingworkshops on SHP including onein French for participants fromAfrican countries. With its techni-cal service and experience fordecades, HRC is committed to par-ticipating in more SHP developmentfor African countries and elsewherein the world. Those interested inour upcoming SHP training work-shops may browse HRC’s homepage and are welcome to contactwith us.

(By D.Pan, HRC training co-ordinator Email: [email protected])

FRONT COVER: Nykvarn is a mini-hydropower station located in Linkoping,Sweden, with capacity of

325 kW and a fall height of 2.8m, year production is 1.5GWh, extension torrent of water is 16 m3/s,midlle

torrent of water is 15m3/s. The station was build in 1942, generator, turbine and gearbox are from that

year.Electrical, control and hydraulic equipment are from 1997. Barcleaner are from 2001, and it's without

hydraulic fluid, and engines controls with frequency controllers, instead of hydraulic engine.

(By Mikael Halvarsson)

SHP in China

small hydropower plants at drops on multi-use water … · small hydropower plants at drops on...

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