Kathmandu Post — Flood damage to Nepal's hydropower sector could run into billions (2026)

Summary

This 30 August 2026 report compiles the first wave of institutional statements on hydropower losses from the 26 August 2026 Bhotekoshi flood. It quotes the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) spokesperson, the IPPAN leadership, the Nepal Insurance Authority, and market data from NEPSE, and names at least 13 damaged projects across Rasuwa and Nuwakot.

Key Claims

• NEA preliminary assessment points to losses worth "hundreds of billions of rupees" across more than a dozen hydropower projects and transmission infrastructure, exceeding IPPAN's Rs 25–30 billion estimate (roughly 25–30 percent of project cost).
• The Rasuwagadhi project (111 MW) was "completely washed away" and Chilime (22 MW) "buried", per the NEA spokesperson.
• Named affected operational projects: 20 MW Langtang Khola (testing phase), 5 MW and 14.8 MW Mailung Khola, a 25 MW NEA-subsidiary solar project, 14 MW Devighat, 24 MW Trishuli, 60 MW Upper Trishuli A (3A), 22 MW Chilime and 111 MW Rasuwagadhi.
• Named affected under-construction projects: 37 MW Upper Trishuli 3B (NEA + Nepal Telecom), 120 MW Rasuwagadhi Bhotekoshi, 6.42 MW Upper Mailung A, 216 MW Upper Trishuli 1 and 15.6 MW Middle Trishuli Ganga.
• IPPAN's senior vice-president states older ground-level powerhouses suffered extensive or complete damage while newer underground powerhouse and desander projects suffered comparatively less.
• Insurance: private projects are generally insured through Nepali insurers; NEA-owned government infrastructure may not be comprehensively insured. Claims assessment had not begun as of 30 August because rescue operations took priority.
• NEPSE: hydropower sub-index fell 104.33 points on 26 August and 19.78 the next day; non-life insurance fell 404.05 then 201.81 points. Rasuwagadhi shares fell 15 percent, Mailung Khola 14.99 percent, Trishuli Jal Vidyut 12.95 percent, Upper Mailung Khola 11.56 percent, Sanjen Jalvidyut 11.18 percent and Chilime 10.12 percent on the first day.
• IPPAN's president notes no immediate electricity shortage is expected because domestic generation currently exceeds national demand.

Relevance

This is the most complete single named-project damage list for the 2026 event and the primary source for the confidence-tiered register behind the Bhotekoshi–Trishuli Flood 2026 map layers. It connects the event to insurance-system exposure documented in Climate Change Increases Volatility and Resilience Risk, Not a Simple "More Water" Win territory and to corridor concentration described on Trishuli Cascade.

Limitations

• Damage statements are preliminary; the Insurance Authority states detailed physical-damage assessment had not begun as of publication.
• NEA's and IPPAN's loss estimates differ by an order of magnitude and are not engineering assessments.
• Two Mailung Khola capacities appear in reporting (5 MW and 14.8 MW); the registry lists Upper Mailung Khola at 14.3 MW — the reconciliation is recorded in the impact register, not settled here.
• Stock-market movements are market signals of exposure, not evidence of project-level damage.