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Photo: Rajan Rawat/TRN Simkot market, district headquarters of Humla.

Locals in Simkot headquarters and 13 wards of two rural municipalities in Humla have been facing up to 22 hours of load-shedding every day after a key machine at the Hildum Electricity Distribution Centre developed a fault.

The governor of a machine at the centre’s powerhouse has stopped functioning, forcing the centre to halt regular power generation. Electricity generated directly from the machine without the governor can supply power for only around two hours a day.

CPN-UML Humla vice-chair Prakash Bahadur Shahi said residents of Simkot Rural Municipality-5 and 6, including those in the headquarters market area, had been suffering from 22 hours of daily power cuts.

He said the limited electricity generated as a temporary measure was being supplied for about two hours during the daytime.

Chief District Officer Bholanath Guragain said even the limited supply had provided some relief to government offices, enabling them to write letters, provide administrative services and check emails.

After the governor, an important equipment used to regulate the powerhouse machine, stopped functioning, the centre completely halted electricity supply to six wards of Simkot Rural Municipality, where the district headquarters is located, and all five wards of Kharpunath Rural Municipality. It is not yet clear when the regular power supply will resume.

The disruption has affected daily life in the district headquarters and surrounding areas, with government and non-government offices also struggling to provide services.

Jai Bohara, a local of Simkot Rural Municipality-2, said he had been unable to contact people elsewhere for the past 15 days because there was no electricity even to charge his mobile phone.

He said consumers were suffering greatly as the machine had broken down at a time when there was no shortage of water, which could otherwise have supported power generation.

Similarly, Ajmal Shahi, a consumer from Simkot Rural Municipality-7, said he had been using pinewood torches to light his home.

Hildum Electricity Distribution Centre Chief Jitendra Shah said power generation had been halted after the governor, a crucial device for controlling the electricity load, stopped functioning.

He acknowledged that consumers had been affected by the disruption and said efforts were under way to provide at least a limited supply of electricity as a temporary arrangement.

The power shortage has also forced Radio Karnali Aawaj and Radio Mansarovar, both operating in Simkot, to suspend their services.

Government offices, banks and financial institutions, schools, businesses and the general public have also been affected. More than 2,700 consumers have been hit by the disruption.

The centre has a total generation capacity of 500 kilowatts. One 250-kilowatt machine has remained out of operation for a long time due to a fault. Before the latest disruption, the centre had been generating around 280 to 300 kilowatts of electricity.

By Rajan Rawat