Sundarijal Small Hydropower Station
Sundarijal Small Hydropower Station
Sundarijal Small Hydropower Station is a small run‑of‑the‑river hydroelectric plant in Kathmandu District, Nepal. It uses water from the Sundarijal River to generate electricity. The plant has a total capacity of 640 kW (two 320 kW Pelton turbines) and produces about 4.77 GWh of energy each year.
Construction began in 1979 B.S. (1934) and electricity started in 1991 B.S., built with a grant from the British government. It is owned by the Nepal Electricity Authority and is operated with involvement from the local community.
Water comes from canals feeding a collection pond near the Bagmati River in Sundarijal. The water travels through a penstock about 0.45 m in diameter and 1.386 km long to the turbines, delivering a net head of about 216 m and a design flow of 23.3 ft3/s. The two horizontal Pelton turbines run at around 900 rpm.
After power generation, the water is released for Kathmandu's drinking water supply and irrigation. There have been drownings at the reservoir, so swimmers should stay away from the area.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:49 (CET).