What We Do

Balephi Hydropower Limited, a leading hydropower company in Nepal, committed to the development and operation of clean, sustainable energy solutions. With a focus on innovation, environmental responsibility, and long-term value creation, BHL plays a vital role in advancing Nepal’s renewable energy goals and supporting national energy security. The company has developed and currently operates the following project:

Upper Balephi ‘A’ is a 36 MW run-of-the-river (RoR) hydropower project located in Jugal Rural Municipality (Wards 2, 3 & 4) of Sindhupalchowk District, Bagmati Province, Nepal. The project was developed under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model. Commercial operation of Upper Balephi ‘A’ began on 2079/08/06 B.S., and since then the plant has been continuously generating electricity and supplying it to the national grid through the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). The generation license for the project remains valid until 2108 B.S. (approximately 2051 A.D.), ensuring decades of operation under the BOOT agreement.

Upper Balephi ‘A’ Hydropower Project diverts water from the Balephi River and harnesses a design discharge of 21.30 m³/s to generate electricity. Major components of the project include:

• Diversion Weir: An ungated gravity weir 40 m in length (about 6 m high from the river bed) diverts river flow into the intake.
• Undersluice Bay: One undersluice bay of size 3.50 m (W) × 4.00 m (H) helps flush out sediments.
• Intake Structure: A side intake on the left bank of Balephi Khola with two trash rack bays (each 6.00 m × 3.50 m) feeds water to the desanding basin.
• Desanding Basin: One primary desander basin (115 m L × 12 m W × 10.10 m H) is designed to remove particles ≥0.2 mm, ensuring cleaner water for power generation. (An additional desander basin is under construction for increased efficiency.) The desander is complemented by a 165 m long bypass channel (3.00 m W × 5.00 m H) to pass the design flow during maintenance.
• Headpond: A collection pool (head pond) with ~645 m³ volume provides about 1.5 minutes of flow storage for one turbine, stabilizing water supply.
• Power Intake and Headrace Pipe: Water from the headpond enters a power intake (trash rack opening 5.34 m × 5.34 m with a bell-mouth transition) and then a 229 m long siphon pipe (3.20 m diameter) that conveys flow to the right bank.
• Headrace Tunnel: A 4,198 m long D-shaped headrace tunnel (finished diameter ~3.9 m) carries the design flow of 21.30 m³/s from the intake to the surge shaft.
• Surge Shaft: An underground surge tank (restricted orifice type) with 34 m height and 8 m diameter moderates pressure fluctuations. It includes a 1.75 m diameter orifice and a 16.25 m high, 3.9 m diameter surge riser to manage upsurges and downsurges.
• Penstock and Pressure Shaft: From the surge shaft, a 95 m long pressure tunnel leads to a surface penstock system (321 m inclined penstock, 52 m vertical shaft, and 65 m horizontal tunnel) which then transitions into an 85 m long buried penstock feeding the powerhouse. The main steel penstock has a 3.0 m internal diameter and bifurcates into branches of 1.75 m diameter to supply each turbine unit.
• Powerhouse: A surface powerhouse (approx. 59.0 m × 15.5 m) houses three generation units (horizontal axis Francis turbines). Each turbine is rated 12 MW, for a total installed capacity of 36 MW. The powerhouse is designed with a turbine axis elevation at 1,041.39 m (with the machine hall floor at 1,048.28 m).
• Tailrace: A 59.6 m long tailrace channel (width tapering from ~30.8 m near the powerhouse to 9.0 m at the outlet, average height ~3.5 m) safely returns water to the Balephi River downstream of the powerhouse.
• Transmission Line: A 22 km, 132 kV single-circuit transmission line evacuates power from the project’s switchyard to the NEA substation at Lamosanghu, ensuring the generated electricity is fed into the national grid.

The company signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with Nepal Electricity Authority on 15 December 2015 for the sale of electricity from Upper Balephi ‘A’. Provisions of the PPA include a contracted annual energy supply of 38.62 GWh in the dry season and 174.21 GWh in the wet season. Tariff rate of energy is NPR 8.40 per kWh during dry season and NPR 4.80 per kWh during wet season subject to seven escalations of three percent (3%) each year starting on 13^th month from the date of commercial operation since one escalation is lost due to delayed commercial operation.