Khimti–Dhalkebar 220 kV Hydropower Corridor
- Page status
- Registry record
- Updated
- 2026-05-11
Summary
The original "IPP-to-grid" line in Nepal. Built to evacuate Khimti -I — the country's first large IPP (1996 PPA, 2000 commissioning) — toward the central grid at Dhalkebar. Its history mirrors the birth of private hydropower in Nepal and the long legal and political battles that surround it.
Key Facts
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Voltage | 220 kV (double circuit) |
| Status | Operational |
| Length | ~75 km |
| Owner | Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) |
| Terminals | Khimti substation (Dolakha) · Dhalkebar substation (Dhanusha) |
| Commissioned | 2016 |
| Financing | World Bank (IDA) — Nepal India Regional Trade and Transportation Project |
| Corridor ID | khimti_dhalkebar_220 |
Significance
- First line built for an IPP. Before Khimti -I, Nepal had no practice of building high-voltage lines specifically to evacuate independent power producers — the Khimti–Dhalkebar project was the template.
- Legal precedent. The project's land-acquisition lawsuits (2011–15) set Nepali case law on the public-interest use of private land for transmission.
- Feeds the export funnel. Terminates at Dhalkebar, which is also the origin of Hetauda–Dhalkebar–Inaruwa 400 kV Backbone and Dhalkebar–Muzaffarpur 400 kV Cross-Border Interconnection. Roughly half of Nepal's exportable hydropower still routes through it.
Limitations & Controversies
- Capacity is effectively full. Contracted flow from Khimti-I + downstream IPPs exceeds 300 MW in peak monsoon; a second 220 kV or 400 kV reinforcement from the Tamakoshi–Khimti cluster has been studied but not funded.
- Sediment disruption risk. The corridor crosses steep Sindhupalchok and Dolakha terrain; landslide damage to tower foundations was flagged in the 2023 monsoon assessment.
See also
- Khimti -I — the project it was built for
- Khimti II — the sister plant that shares the corridor
- Hetauda–Dhalkebar–Inaruwa 400 kV Backbone — the 400 kV it hands off to