The state-owned power utility Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) had earlier planned a 400 kV substation at Ratmate in Nuwakot district for the proposed Nepal–China cross-border transmission line.
The substation was earlier being funded through the USD500 million US Millennium Challenge Corporation grant for Electricity Transmission Projects. The grant is now facing political issues, which led to NEA’s decision of setting up a separate substation in Trishuli Bazaar, near the site of the Trishuli hydropower plant, for crossborder connectivity purposes. The survey and demarcation for the proposed Trishuli substation area have been completed and the detailed design works are being carried out. The larger 400 kV Rashuwagadi (Nepal)– Kerung (Tibet) cross-border transmission project entails a total project line length of 800 km. Around 80 km of the line, extending from Galchhi in Dhading district to Rasuwagadhi on the border with China in the north, will lie in Nepal’s territory. The project is expected to be completed by 2025.