How is Nepal’s hydropower sector faring after heavy rain and floods? - Khabarhub

Nepal's hydropower sector has sustained catastrophic damage from severe flooding that struck in late September 2026, exposing critical vulnerabilities in a nation where hydroelectric generation accounts for nearly 100% of electricity supply. Two days of devastating floods, centered in Rasuwa district near the Tibet border, destroyed entire villages and damaged between 12 and 26 hydropower facilities across multiple river basins. The most severe impacts affected the Trishuli River basin, where 12 power generation sites totaling between 431 MW and 1,100 MW of capacity were damaged or destroyed. At minimum, 13 plants with combined capacity of 105 MW have been forced to shut down, representing over 10% of Nepal's total generation capacity. The disaster claimed more than 1,300 lives, with thousands still missing.

The human toll on hydropower infrastructure has been acute. Approximately 900 workers associated with 12 hydropower projects remain missing following the floods, with roughly 500 estimated to be trapped inside various tunnels across affected facilities. Rescue operations continue as authorities assess the full extent of infrastructure damage and worker casualties. The estimated financial loss to the hydropower sector alone stands at NPR 3 billion. Critically, operators and the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority have not yet determined whether any of the severely damaged facilities can be restored to operational status, signaling potential long-term capacity constraints.

Nepal's near-total reliance on hydropower creates acute export and fiscal exposure. The nation currently generates electricity revenue of approximately $200 million annually through exports to India and Bangladesh, supplementing domestic supply that had improved dramatically from 2010–2018 when infrastructure expansion and corruption reduction efforts extended 24-hour power availability to most of the population. The current operational fleet comprises 225 hydropower plants with over 3,900 MW of installed capacity, with hundreds of additional facilities under construction or in planning stages. The disaster directly challenges this expansion strategy.

Officials have explicitly acknowledged the need for policy recalibration. Rajan Dhakal, spokesman for the Nepal Electricity Authority, stated that "the time has come for a rethink of our hydropower policy," citing accelerating frequency of climate-related disasters. The underlying risk profile reflects both global warming's impact on Himalayan glaciers and the inherent vulnerability of hydropower infrastructure concentrated in mountainous terrain prone to flash floods and landslides. Despite assurances from the NEA that current electricity supply remains adequate for domestic households, the September 2026 disaster demonstrates that Nepal's hydropower-centric energy strategy faces material climate and operational risks that may require diversification or significant hardening of existing installations against extreme hydrological events.