Rasuwa's Timure telephone tower switches to solar, ending helicopter diesel runs

Nepal Telecom's telephone tower at Timure in Rasuwa has now started running on solar power. Telecom has installed and put into operation a 12-kilowatt capacity solar system at the tower.

After floods in the Bhotekoshi river on Bhadra 10 swept away electricity infrastructure, power supply to the area was disrupted. Since then, the tower had been run on diesel generators.

With road access cut off, diesel for the generators also had to be transported by helicopter.

Since the Nepal Electricity Authority's line was unlikely to be restored soon, Telecom made this arrangement. The equipment and materials needed for the solar installation were also flown to Timure-Khaidi by helicopter, Telecom said.

With the new system in place, the recurring problem of having to send diesel has now ended. Telecom says its 2G and 4G services will continue to run around the clock in the border area of Timure even without power from the national transmission line.