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Hydropower in Nepal Argentina faces a new challenge after August floods hit the electrical system and knocked 410 MW of generation out of service, nearly 10% of the national capacity, the disaster has once again highlighted the resilience of power plants located in glacier-fed valleys, where the combination of steep slopes, landslides, flash floods, and changes in glacier dynamics increases the exposure of the infrastructure. This situation has also opened a debate about the need to strengthen design criteria, improve early warning systems, and reduce the operational vulnerability of a country that relies heavily on its water resources to meet electricity demand and sustain its energy expansion plans.
Nepal’s hydropower increases its exposure to risk
Currently, over 90% of Nepal’s electricity comes from hydroelectric power this high participation has made the Himalayan rivers a fundamental piece for the country’s economic growth, job creation and the development of electricity exports.
However, the disaster in August altered that scenario, a rock and ice collapse on the border between China and Nepal triggered an emergency that left more than 1,400 dead and thousands missing. At the same time, damage to the energy infrastructure reduced the available capacity of the national system by 410 MW.
Authorities also suspended electricity exports to India and Bangladesh, Nepal had begun to use its surplus generation as a source of income, a strategy closely linked to the use of glacier-fed rivers.
Seven hydroelectric projects suffered direct damage
According to government assessments cited in the reference material, the energy sector accounted for nearly half of the infrastructure damage caused by the disaster, with seven hydroelectric projects directly affected and other facilities having to stop generating power.
In addition, six projects that were under construction suffered damage, together, these works represent 508 MW of projected capacity, which adds pressure on the country’s electricity expansion plans.
Weeks after the floods, rescue teams continued searching for hundreds of workers, engineers, and other employees missing in tunnels connected to the hydroelectric facilities. The situation has intensified the debate over the design, location, and operation criteria for power plants.
Nepal evaluates new hydropower resilience measures
Given the magnitude of the impact, the Government has proposed incorporating the lessons of the disaster into future projects. The Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, told Parliament that the country needs to develop systems capable of reducing risks in the face of similar events.
The World Bank, for its part, has warned about the need to build a hydroelectric system capable of anticipating, absorbing and recovering from increasingly complex threats in the Himalayas, this responsiveness will be especially important for facilities located in narrow valleys and near riverbeds with strong glacial influence.
Meanwhile, scientists cited by the source indicate that the disaster stemmed from a combination of climatic and geological factors. World Weather Attribution linked the rock and ice collapse to long-term warming, glacial retreat, and geological instability.
Power plants located further away from riverbeds and remote operation
Faced with these risks, representatives of private energy producers have proposed changes to infrastructure design. Uttam Bhlon Lama, senior vice president of the Nepal Independent Power Producers Association, believes that power plants should be built in higher areas and further away from riverbeds to reduce their exposure to flooding.
The sector also proposes strengthening evacuation plans, preparing safe shelters, and studying remote operation systems. These measures aim to reduce the possibility of workers becoming trapped inside tunnels or facilities during an emergency.
In addition, the retreat of glaciers and the thawing of permafrost complicate risk assessment in the Himalayas, floods, landslides, and other chained events can affect infrastructure located along river corridors where much of the hydroelectric generation is concentrated.
Solar energy is emerging as an option to diversify the energy mix
The disaster has also revived the discussion about diversifying Nepal’s energy mix, the country lacks electricity generation capacity based on coal or gas, so its system maintains a very high dependence on hydroelectric power plants.
In a 2024 report, the German development agency GIZ indicated that a planned addition of solar power could make Nepal’s electricity system more robust, combining different sources would reduce operational exposure to simultaneous outages in several hydroelectric projects.
The challenge also goes beyond the borders of Nepal, the glaciers of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush constitute an essential source of water for around 240 million people in mountainous regions and for another 1.65 billion inhabitants of the river valleys of South and Southeast Asia.
In this scenario, specialists from Tribhuvan University consider it necessary to expand regional monitoring of the Himalayas to identify critical areas and strengthen early warning systems. For Nepal, hydroelectric expansion will continue to be a central part of its electrical system, but the design of new facilities will be increasingly conditioned by climate and geological risk management.
Source: France24
Photo: Shutterstock
