Nepal experienced its worst power crisis in over a decade when the entire national grid collapsed at 11:18 PM last night, plunging all seven provinces into complete darkness for over 12 hours. The Nepal Electricity Authority confirmed that a cascading failure originating at the Dhalkebar substation in Dhanusha district triggered a chain reaction that systematically shut down transmission lines across the integrated national power system. The 400 kV cross-border interconnection line was also tripped, cutting off power imports that normally supplement domestic generation.

The prolonged blackout wreaked havoc across the country's critical infrastructure. Hospitals in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, and other major cities were forced to rely on backup diesel generators, with several facilities reporting generator failures after running continuously for hours. Kathmandu's water supply system, which depends on electric pumps, was completely disrupted, leaving millions without running water. Mobile communication networks experienced widespread outages as cell tower batteries drained, cutting off connectivity for large parts of rural Nepal.

The Nepal Electricity Authority's managing director held a press conference at 9 AM, attributing the failure to a combination of aging infrastructure, a lightning strike that damaged critical protection relays at Dhalkebar, and insufficient redundancy in the transmission network. Engineers worked through the night to restore power, beginning with the Kulekhani hydroelectric plant as the black-start station. Power was gradually restored to Kathmandu Valley by 11:30 AM, with full national restoration expected by late evening. The total economic loss from the blackout is estimated at over 5 billion Nepali rupees.

The crisis has reignited fierce debate about the state of Nepal's energy infrastructure despite the country's enormous hydropower potential. Opposition lawmakers have demanded a parliamentary inquiry into why recommendations from a 2023 grid vulnerability assessment were never implemented. Energy experts point out that Nepal's transmission infrastructure has not kept pace with generation capacity additions, creating a fragile system prone to cascading failures. The Energy Ministry has announced the formation of a high-level technical committee to investigate the root cause and recommend immediate upgrades to prevent a recurrence.