29 March 2006- With the commissioning of the Tsenkari substation in Nganglam a week ago the Bhutan Power Corporation (BPC) has completed the last portion of the planned eastern grid.
The 132 kV substation, apart from being the main power source for the proposed Dungsam cement plant, will also supply electricity to whole of Nganglam dungkhag including Norbugang and Decheling gewog from the Kurichhu hydropower plant.
Nganglam substation is important because the Dungsam cement project is soon going to come up, said the trade minister, Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba, who inaugurated the substation on March 21. Dungsam will make Nganglam a nerve center for the whole of the eastern region.
The Nganglam substation could also supply power to Yangbari in Mongar via Decheling gewog.
According to the BPC managing director, Chewang Rinzin, the eastern grid consisted of all the transmission lines at 132 kV level for the whole of the eastern region that will evacuate the Kurichhu power for the 10 eastern and central dzongkhags as well as the export of power to India.
We have completed eight substations at Kilikhar, Tangmachu, Kanglung, Nangkhor, Deothang, Tingtibi, Gelephu and Nganglam, he said. Now we have started the construction of a line from Tingtibi to Trongsa to Bumthang.
At present Trongsa and Bumthang dzongkhags in central-eastern Bhutan have no grid power and are dependent on micro and mini hydels for power supply.
Overall, the Kurichhu plant will supply electricity to the 10 eastern and central dzongkhags.
BPCs other big undertaking, according to Chewang Rinzin, was integrating the eastern grid to the western one on which work has already started.
This would be done via the 220 kV Tsirang substation that will bring electricity from the western grid which will include Chukha, Basochu and Tala, he said. We will extend this 220 kV line from Tsirang to Gelephu which will then join the western grid to the eastern one. The Tsirang supply will also continue to Dagana.
Apart from backing up each other in case of trouble the two grids will integrate the whole country on one grid improving reliability of the system as a whole.
The total cost for connecting the two grids from Rurichu to Tsirang to Gelephu including substations in between is expected to cost BPC Nu. 1,500 million which the company hopes to meet through its own fund and by taking loans from financial institutions. The integration would be completed latest by the end of 2009.
source:www.kuenselonline.com
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