Nepal electricity authority: – The Electricity Authority of Nepal (NEA) was founded on August 16, 1985 (Bhadra 1, 2042) under the Electricity Authority Act of Nepal. 1984 through the merger of the Department of Electricity of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Electricity Corporation of Nepal and the related Development Boards.

To address the inherent weakness of these fragmented electricity companies with overlaps and duplicated workplaces, it was necessary to merge these individual companies to achieve efficiency and reliable service.

The main objective of NEA is the generation, transmission and distribution of adequate, reliable and affordable energy through the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of all generation, transmission and distribution facilities in the Nepalese energy system that are interconnected and isolated.

In addition to achieving the above main objective, the main tasks of NEA are:
- Recommend the Government of Nepal to short- and long-term plans and measures in the electricity sector.
- To recommend, set and implement the tariff structure for electricity consumption with the prior approval of the Nepalese Government.
- Organize training and studies to produce skilled workers in manufacturing, transmission, distribution and other sectors.
- It is the main generator and power distributor under the supervision of the Nepalese government.

NEA owns 480 megawatts of hydroelectric power plants connected to the grid. It also draws energy from independent power producers (IPPs) worth 230 megawatts. It operates two power plants that generate 53 megawatts of electricity. The total capacity of the NEA-operated Integrated Energy System of Nepal (INPS) is 757 megawatts. Several projects have been implemented to meet the electricity needs, but these have been affected by delays. Here are the Hydropower station that is owned by NEA.

Hydropower Station	Capacity (MW)
Kali Gandaki A, Syangja	144
Middle Marshyangdi Hydropower Station, Lamjung	70
Marshyangdi Hydropower Station, Tanahun	69
Kulekhani I Hydropower Plant, Makawanpur	60
Kulekhani II Hydropower Plant, Makawanpur	32
Chameliya Hydropower Plant, Darchula	30
Trishuli Hydropower Station, Nuwakot	24
Gandak Hydropower Plant, Nawalparasi	15
ModiKhola Hydropower Station, Parbat	14.8
Devighat Hydropower Plant, Nuwakot	14.1
Sunkoshi Hydropower Station, Sindhupalchok	10.05
PuwaKhola Hydropower Station, Ilam	6.2
Chatara Hydropower Station, Sunsari	3.2
Panauti Hydropower Station, Kavre	2.4
Seti Hydropower Station, Pokhara	1.5
Fewa Hydropower Station, Pokhara	1
Sundarijal Hydropower Plant, Sundarijal	0.97

Nepal imported 11063MWh electricity from India, the biggest amount so far since the country ended power cuts three years ago. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) had to import because the total demand for electricity reached 1,243MW in the year of 2075 in winter peak load and due to low water volume in rivers, the production from run-of-river schemes is falling.
As per the financial year 2017-2018, tariff rates for different kinds of consumer are as follows:-

S. NO.	Electricity Consume Block	Rate Rs. Per Unit	Billing Method
1	Up to 20 units	3.00	Minimum Monthly Service Charge Rs. 30.00 for up to 20 units and Energy Charge Rs. 3.00 per unit
2	21 to 30 units	7.00	Minimum Monthly Service Charge Rs. 50.00 and Energy Charge per unit Rs. 3.00 for per unit up to 20 units and Rs. 7.00 per unit for 21 units to 30 units
3	31 to 50 units	8.50	Minimum Monthly Service Charge Rs. 75.00 and Energy Charge per unit Rs. 3.00 for per unit up to 20 units and Rs. 7.00 per unit for 21 units to 30 units and Rs. 8.50 per unit for 31 units to 50 units
4	51 to 150 units	10.00	Minimum Monthly Service Charge Rs. 100.00 and Energy Charge per unit Rs. 3.00 for per unit up to 20 units and Rs. 7.00 per unit for 21 units to 30 units and Rs. 8.50 per unit for 31 units to 50 units and Rs. 10.00 per unit for 51 units to 150 units
5	151 to 250 units	11.00	Minimum Monthly Service Charge Rs. 125.00 and Energy Charge per unit Rs. 3.00 for per unit up to 20 units and Rs. 7.00 per unit for 21 units to 30 units and Rs. 8.50 per unit for 31 units to 50 units and Rs. 10.00 per unit for 51 units to 150 units and Rs. 11.00 per unit for 151 units to 250 units
6	251 to 400 units	12.00	Minimum Monthly Service Charge Rs. 150.00 and Energy Charge per unit Rs. Advertisement 3.00 for per unit up to 20 units and Rs. 7.00 per unit for 21 units to 30 units and Rs. 8.50 per unit for 31 units to 50 units and Rs. 10.00 per unit for 51 units to 150 units and Rs. 11.00 per unit for 151 units to 250 units and Rs. 12.00 per unit for 251 units to 400 units
7	Above 400	13.00	Minimum Monthly Service Charge is Rs. 175.00 as well the minimum charge and Energy Charge per unit Rs. 3.00 for per unit up to 20 units and Rs. 7.00 per unit for 21 units to 30 units and Rs. 8.50 per unit for 31 units to 50 units and Rs. 10.00 per unit for 51 units to 150 units and Rs. 11.00 per unit for 151 units to 250 units and Rs. 12.00 per unit for 251 units to 400 units and Rs. 13.00 per unit for above 400 units

Service and Energy Charge (Single Phase)

kWh (Monthly) Units	5 Am ere		15 Ampere		30 Ampere		60 Ampere
kWh (Monthly) Units	Service Charge	Energy Advertisement Charge	Service Charge	Energy Advertisement Charge	Service Charge	Energy Charge	Service Charge	Energy Charge
0-20	30.00	3.00	50.00	4.00	75.00	5.00	125.00	6.00
21-30	50.00	7.00	75.00	7.00	100.00	7.00	150.00	7.00
31-50	75.00	8.50	100.00	8.50	125.00	8.50	175.00	8.50
51-150	100.00	10.00	125.00	10.00	150.00	10.00	200.00	10.00
151-250	125.00	11.00	150.00	11.00	175.00	11.00	225.00	11.00
251-400	150.00	12.00	175.00	12.00	200.00	12.00	250.00	12.00
Above 400	175.00	13.00	200.00	13.00	225.00	13.00	275.00	13.00

The amount of NEA imports depends on total demand, so it goes up or down. About 58% of Nepal’s total electricity needs were met with imports from India, and this was unprecedented and unexpected. Nepal would import up to 500MW of electricity this winter, but the actual import exceeded its estimate by 153MW, said by NEA’s Managing Director Kulman Ghising. Last year Nepal spent 20 billion rupees on electricity imports from India and 90 billion rupees on oil imports. According to NEA, import is necessary to meet immediate needs and avoid the economic costs of resuming blackouts. If you compare the cost of importing 500 MW of electricity with the costs that Nepal’s industries would incur without this electricity, the loss is much greater. “It would take us many years to build 500 MW hydroelectric power plants, but electricity is immediately available for import, which is more economically viable for us.
The NEA has achieved its main objective of eliminating the easing of cargo across the country from May 14, 2018, in order to cut off power during peak hours in the industrial sector. The goal of transforming NEA into a profit-oriented organization was again achieved in the financial year 2016/17 with a net profit of R 1,512.22 million. This trend continued in the year under review (2017/18) with net income of NPR 1,010.20 million (provisional). Continuous energy supply and rigorous measures to reduce energy theft have greatly impacted these efforts.
NEA did not explain the resumption of load reduction, but since mid-December 2075, power outages have occurred in many areas. “The distribution grids and transmission lines are overloaded and this has led to an explosion of the transformers Feeder will catch fire and these incidents caused the interruption of the electricity service, but can not be described as a load reduction.
At a time when a group of people is spreading the word that Nepal’s Electricity Authority (NEA) has lost more than a billion people, the Auditor General is the constitutional review panel. The 2017/018 Annual Report states NEA’s net profit had reached 2.84 billion rupees. In his report, the Auditor General said that the financial situation of NEA is sound. The report released on Friday states that the Reserve Fund and the Collection Fund now have loans totaling Rs 33.59 billion, compared to Rs 26.33 billion in the previous year. The report states that the share of the profit margin had increased. Similarly, in relation to liability and total expenditure, employees’ expenditure losses and the distribution share had fallen. Auditor General’s audit found that NEA represents a net gain of Rs. 2.84 billion 8.1 million. When Kula Man Ghising was named General Manager of NEA in August 2017, NEA suffered a net loss of Rs.8.89 billion. In addition to eliminating the chronic burden after a decade of completion, Ghising, due to its management capacity, can execute NEA in an advantageous manner. Under the leadership of Ghising, the NEA had made various efforts to control power losses as well as administrative and financial reforms. Managing Director Ghising published the NEA Annual Report in August 2018, which predicts a total benefit of more than Rs.1.1bn. The real benefits of the past fiscal year reached nearly Rs. 3 billion in the final audit. The progress in the loss of electricity control, imports from India, the decline in share purchase electricity from the private sector, controls maintenance costs and management, remove the final burden and the effective implementation of financial restructuring are the reasons for the generation of NEA in the profits.

In the last financial year 2017/18, NEA was able to reduce the power loss to 20.45 percent. The loss in production, transmission and distribution was reduced last year to 2.45 percent compared to the previous year. Last year’s loss was 22.90 percent. In addition, NEA has already reduced its power loss by 15.45 percent in the last five months of the current financial year. The NEA had set itself the goal of reducing the leaks by 18.5 percent in the current financial year. In the past fiscal year, the transmission loss was 5 percent two years earlier. It reached 5.63 this year with a gain of 0.63 percent. However, the distribution leaks were reduced from 16.82 to 14.82 percent. NEA had leakage control, power theft, incur maturity and improve the distribution transformer, distribution line and substation was thrown to strengthen a national campaign.

A long dispute between the Ministry of Energy and Electricity of Nepal has been agreed with the utility company to sign the Agreement Electricity Purchase (PPA) with hydropower projects in the form of signed or pay to be installed together The power reaches 5,250 MW.
The board of the Electricity Authority of Nepal decided on Tuesday to change all PPA manufacturing and signed payment systems last in the making or payment and sign new agreement under the take or pay mode for a highly placed source in the authority
The Ministry did not agree with the electricity company because of the PPA modality for the approval of hydropower projects. The take-and-pay model allows the agency to purchase energy from hydropower projects as needed and pay accordingly. Under the system or payment, they had to pay the contractually agreed amount of electricity or pay a penalty if they did not expose the electric company to financial risk if they can not evacuate and sell the energy generated. The authority had signed electricity purchase agreements for around 4,600 MW with several standard systems of its independent energy supply companies and subsidiaries. These include the PPAs for a combined installed capacity of 1,247 MW in take-and-pay format. The old dispute broke out again after the ministry asked the state utility to convert the PPAs into takeovers or payments and sign similar agreements for a further 650 MW.
Although the Nepalese electricity authority did not want to accept the payment or delivery arrangements, the board meeting chaired by Energy Minister Barsha Man Pun made the decision. Energy Service was unwilling to comply with the ministry’s mandate, as they would be exposed to financial risk due to lack of adequate transmission lines to evacuate and distribute electricity generated by these power projects. According to the source of authority, the PPA payment of 1,247 MW of electricity implies an additional responsibility of Rs46.55 billion to the energy companies and an additional liability of Rs 24.26 trillion by signing similar agreements with other 650 MW. The government had not agreed to cover these losses and it is expected that the financial situation of the agency will deteriorate if PPA is used for payment or reimbursement.
The National Electricity Authority of Nepal (NEA) is responsible for supplying electricity through the national grid. The electricity supply is limited to 43.6% of the population (2009), which lives mainly in urban areas. Only 8% of people in rural areas had access to electricity. Low electrification hinders both economic development and access to information and education in rural areas.
In addition to the national network, thousands of small installations are installed in Nepal (diesel generators, solar home systems, mini-island networks, etc.). Therefore, the NEA supplies only 15% of the total population of Nepal. For these small numbers of customers, the average power supply is less than eight hours a day and the load reduction is up to 16 hours in winter. In December 2008, the Nepalese government declared a “national energy crisis” and approved an action plan to tackle the energy crisis. In January 2009, the drought in one part of the country worsened the water available for hydropower generation and floods elsewhere broke through the shores of the Koshi River and an important transmission line dumped energy from India.
The consumption of electricity and the number of consumers increase at a rate of approximately 9% per year, according to the Electricity Authority of Nepal (NEA). Due to the increase in household consumption, the peak demand at night had increased dramatically. Due to the constant increase in demand and the stagnation in the creation of additional power generation capacities, there was a notable shortage of energy supply since 2007, which forced the NEA in early 2009 to cut power to 20 hours per day in some regions, including urban areas. centers
The NEA, as the main electricity company, faces a huge increase in the demand for electricity, while at the same time production and transmission capacities are limited. However, the ambitious development goals are announced by the policy, the development of plants and transmission lines cannot keep up with the economic development and its induced increase in demand.
Between 2005 and 2014 (estimated figures), the maximum demand more than doubled, from 557 to 1200 MW. In the same period of time, the annual electricity production increased from 2,642 GWh to 4631 GWh. Of these, 3558 GWh were produced in the country, while 1072 GWh were imported from India.
NEA’s production depends to a large extent on hydroelectric power, since almost 93% of total electricity would be generated by private hydroelectric plants or owned by NEA in 2013 (despite the high costs per installed unit due to the topography and unfavorable hydrology and geology). In order to satisfy the growing hunger for more electricity, India’s imports have become more important over the past decade. In 2011 they accounted for 18.42% of total energy production. While private and state hydropower generation doubled in the last ten years, energy imports from India are now 4 times higher (from 266 GWh in 2001 to 1072 GWh in 2013).
You can draw a similar image in terms of installed generation capacity. Currently, 733 MW of an installed capacity of 782 MW is hydroelectric. Around 478 MW of hydroelectric power is owned by NEA, while 255 MW is owned and operated privately. Due to the rise in fuel prices, two diesel power plants with a total installed capacity of 53.4 MW were almost abandoned in recent years. The following figure provides a complete overview of installed capacity by type of fuel.
Consumers of electricity often remember and congratulate Ghising during cold days and winter nights. Only a few winters ago, the country was suffering less than 18 hours of daily spillage as the water level in run-of-river hydroelectric power was depleted. This state of affairs has not only hampered people’s daily lives, it has also affected the country’s economy. Ghising says that the recent meetings between Nepal and India, and the energy management amendment made in December (Nepalese Poush month) would make a big contribution to a long-term strategy on energy management in Nepal.
The credit for freeing the country from almost a decade-long load-bearing problem belongs to Ghising. However, when he was appointed managing director of the Electricity Authority of Nepal on September 14, 2016, he had no plan or objective to end the power outage. While taking the reins of the state-owned power company by overcoming many leading candidates, there were speculations that Ghising would not succeed as its predecessors because of internal problems within the state power company.
After working for the Electricity Authority of Nepal for years, he was aware of the internal mechanisms of the organization, which proved very useful when it was proposed to put an end to the elimination of the burden in the country. Interestingly, the subject of his post-graduate thesis at Pulchowk Engineering College was “Integrated resource planning with demand management”.
On October 30, 2016, a little over a month after his appointment, Ghising’s team faced a huge challenge: to supply uninterrupted power to households across the country. The day was Laxmi Puja, which is when households across the country light up their houses, shooting the demand for electricity through the roof. But Ghising’s team successfully managed to overcome the challenge.
On that day, NEA supplied 340 Megawatt of power to Kathmandu Valley alone, and Ghising spent hours at load dispatch center at Syuchatar, Kathmandu. By the time he reached home, it was 12 am on October 31. His family had to observe the Laxmi Puja rituals without him. After having successfully supplied electricity during the festival of lights, Ghising had in front of him another big challenge–continuing the momentum. “The biggest issue managing power supply during peak hours. Another major challenge was keeping tabs on power supply between substations and ensuring smooth power supply to stations that had inadequate supply,” He said. Ghising also saw that there was a huge discrimination in the distribution of electricity. Some of the industries, banks, and hospitals were receiving an uninterrupted supply of electricity, while the general public was spending hours in darkness. “All who assumed the post of managing director before me were happy to perpetuate the discrimination in power supply,”said Ghising. “To end power outage, he knew it was important to tackle all these issues.”
Ghising’s formula worked wonders with multi-dimensional effect. Ending the decade-long load-shedding had a positive impact on the nation’s economy. But it dealt a huge blow to the country’s inverter traders. Around 400 Megawatt capacity diesel-powered inverters in the country, half of which were being operated in Kathmandu, went out of operation. These excessive power-consuming appliances were put away, thereby saving the diesel consumed by such devices. Starting off from the Capital, the power cuts were gradually ended across the country. “I received many encouraging messages from people all over the country,” he says.
Ghising, however, had not remained immune from criticisms. He had been accused of taking the credit for ending load-shedding by importing more electricity from India. “Even though importing electricity from India to make up for the shortage in electricity production versus demand sounds simple, it is not. It requires extensive knowledge of NEA’s existing infrastructure and demand during peak and off-peak hours among others,” he said.
Born in Bethan village of Ramechhap district, Ghising, 48, learned how to write under a dim light of tuki (traditional oil lamp) in a small room at his ancestral home. He started going to a primary school, about half an hour’s walk from his home, when he was seven years old. He came to Kathmandu with his brothers and was enrolled in grade 7 at Bal Sewa Secondary School in Jhochhe, Kathmandu. He completed his SLC from Amar Adarsh Secondary School and Intermediate of Science from Amrit Science Campus. The bright and hardworking Ghising received a scholarship to study electrical engineering at Regional Institute of Technology in Jamshedpur, India. Upon returning to Nepal after completing his studies, he applied for government jobs and got selected at three places—a Ministry, Civil Aviation Department, and Nepal Electricity Authority. He chose NEA because this was where he could apply his academic knowledge.
Ghising, who first received praises for his decision to grant shares to the locals affected by Rasuwa-based Chilime Hydropower, had to remain idle for two years due to his tussle with the then energy minister. “he was the director of NEA. But my office did not even had chair for me to sit on. For two years, all he did was just record my attendance,” he recalls.

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is redoing the public procurement process to appoint contractors to install underground power cables in Kathmandu after previous bidders quoted a much higher price than the estimate. The state-owned power utility wants to move all power cables underground in the northern and southern parts of the Kathmandu Valley to improve distribution. The NEA had invited two separate global tenders from interested firms to replace the overhead cables in areas served by the Ratna Park and Maharajgunj distribution centres. Manoj Silwal, chief of the Project Management Directorate at the NEA, told the Post that the power utility was planning to complete the procurement process and appoint the contractor by March 2019. The winning contractor needs to complete the project within two and half years. According to Silwal, the project would use a horizontal erection gridding system to lay underground cables as this would cause less damage to the roads. This system allows power lines to be laid over a distance of 100 meters by drilling a pit at one place. The power utility had clearly said that vehicular traffic would not be disturbed by its work as it would immediately blacktop the road after the cables are laid. The major reason behind the plan to remove overhead lines and install underground cables is to increase the reliability of the distribution system, according to the NEA. The power utility’s existing distribution system is very fragile, resulting in abrupt power cuts despite adequate supply. The Valley’s existing distribution network that can’t support a load of more than 400 MW. The NEA is planning to upgrade the system to support a power load of up to 2,000 MW.

The scheme to replace the cables is part of a project funded by the Nepal government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which seeks to meet the growing energy demand in the Valley, and increase the capacity and reliability of the distribution networks by undergrounding and automating the networks, using insulated cables for overhead lines and using smart meters. This is the NEA’s second attempt to hire contractors after its earlier bidding process launched more than a year ago was scrapped because the price quotes were too high. The financier ADB had pressed the NEA to go ahead with the hiring process even though the lowest bid was higher than the estimated cost, but the power utility cancelled the process and started anew.

According to the bid notice issued by the NEA, international competitive bidding would be conducted in accordance with the ADB’s ‘single stage two-envelope bidding procedure’ under which interested parties had to achieve the technical and financial bids in two part. The technical bids would be opened first while the financial bids would remain sealed and unopened in a locked box. The financial bids of only the technically qualified bidders would then be opened, and the one bidding the lowest price would get the contract.

Chiefs of the regional offices and distribution centres of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) are being asked to sign performance contracts setting goals for them in a bid to reduce loss and control leakage. On Monday, managing director of the state-owned power utility Kulman Ghising signed a performance contract with Manoj Kumar Singh, chief of the NEA’s Nepalgunj regional office, to reduce electricity leakage by around 4 percentage points.

NEA Deputy Managing Director Hara Raj Neupane signed performance contracts with the chiefs of 16 distribution centers under the regional office with the same objective. Electricity leakage stood at 16.65 percent of the total supply of the Nepalgunj regional office at the end of the last fiscal year. As per the performance contract signed with the NEA top management, the regional directors and distribution center chiefs are required to reduce leakage to 11.65 percent by the end of the current fiscal year. Apart from leakage reduction, officials at the regional offices had to cut administrative expenses, recover outstanding dues and provide high quality services to customers. Officials achieving 50 percent of the targets set in the performance contract would be offered various cash and non-cash incentives. Likewise, officials achieving less than 50 percent of the targets would be considered inefficient and face action. As per the contract, the performance of the officials would be evaluated every four months.

According to Ghising, the power utility would sign performance contracts with the chiefs of other regional offices and distribution centres under them. “They would complete signing performance contracts with the chiefs of the eight regional offices and more than 100 distribution centre chiefs by the end of this fiscal year,” he said. Although signing performance contracts is a new thing for NEA officials, it is standard practice for the managing director. The NEA’s managing director had to sign a performance contract with the Energy Ministry. Ghising himself had signed such an agreement, and if he fails to meet the targets stated in it, he could lose his job too. Ghising’s predecessor Mukesh Raj Kafle had to resign after he failed to meet the goals stated in the performance contract he signed with the ministry. As per the performance contract signed between the ministry and Kafle, he had to score at least 50 percent during the annual evaluation. Kafle scored 45 percent and the ministry asked him to step down. One of the major reasons behind Kafle’s failure to meet the target was his inability to pass on the goal to his subordinates.
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) warned factories operating without a capacitor bank that their electricity supply could be cut off. The state-owned power utility decided to get tough after finding out that a majority of the factories in the eastern Tarai had not installed capacitor banks as required. A capacitor bank is a group of multiple capacitors connected in series which is used to correct voltage fluctuations. The device ensures constant voltage power supply to electrical equipment thereby reducing chances of power cuts due to voltage fluctuations. As per the NEA’s Electricity Distribution Bylaws 2013, any customer operating electrical equipment of 5 horsepower or higher capacity is required to install a capacitor bank on their premises. As a majority of the factories in the Eastern Terai region had not installed capacitor banks, other NEA customers in the area, both households and industries, are facing abrupt power cuts due to tripping of the circuit breaker. When this happens, the general public blames the NEA for imposing power cuts. After receiving several complaints from the public, the NEA management inspected various factories in the Eastern Terai and discovered that many factories had not installed capacitor banks. Among the 140 factories inspected by the NEA, only 43 had installed capacitor banks till the date of this article published.

In order to find out the nationwide status of the use of capacitor banks, the NEA sent a circular to all its distribution offices instructing them to inspect the factories under their distribution network. After countrywide details are received, the power utility is planning to provide some time to the factories to install capacitor banks. Those failing to install such devices within the timeframe would face power cuts, according to the NEA.
They had found that large factories owned by reputed business persons had not complied with the law and haven’t installed capacitor banks. This affected our distribution network mainly in the Tarai, but they are accused of imposing power cuts by the general public as per Kulman Ghising, managing director of the NEA. “Now, they would give some time to the industries to install the device, and if they do not comply within the given time, their electricity supply would be disconnected.”
Due to rising temperatures in the Tarai region, there is maximum use of air conditioners, coolers and fans, pushing up demand for electricity besides causing voltage fluctuations. The power utility is struggling to supply regular power in cities like Biratnagar, Butwal, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi and Mahendranagar, among others. Apart from forcing industries to install capacitor banks at their facilities, the power utility is improving its distribution system. It had started the construction of various substations and power lines throughout the region. It is planning to replace 11 and 33 kV power lines and substations with 132 kV transmission lines and substations to improve electricity distribution.
The Public Account Committee of the Legislature-Parliament on Tuesday issued directives to Nepal Electricity Authority to scrap the contract for the 25-megawatt solar power system. A meeting of the Committee had directed the Authority to cancel the contract, stating that the contract process itself was of mala fide intention. The NEA, the national power utility, had decided to install solar system at Battar and Devighat of Nuwakot with the objective of developing a mixed power system in the country to end the load shedding. A complaint was filed at the Committee arguing that the contract was given to an applicant who had proposed more cost for the construction of the project instead of giving it to the lowest among the five bidders. The solar energy system is being constructed with the investment of the World Bank. The Committee had directed the NEA to cancel its decision of giving the responsibility of the project to the Pidgeon and Heron JV, and call for new tenders. The committee had called for scrapping all decisions and initiating a fresh tender process. The committee meeting directed the government owned power monopoly to select the construction company through a new process by cancelling its earlier decision to this regard, citing the decision was found suspicious, controversial and illegal.
The NEA management was accused of financial irregularities in awarding the contract to the Raison Energy, which had bid Rs 680 million more than the lowest bidder Pidgeon and Heron JV. The latter had bid Rs 3.717 billion. However, the NEA management had argued that the lowest bidding company was technically not sound according to the assessment carried out by an independent experts group.
However, Mukesh Raj Kafle, former executive director at NEA said that the Pingao and Heron JV itself was suitable. Meanwhile, NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising assured that he was ready to undergo and bear any sort of action if any kind of irregularities were proved in the bidding process for the construction of the solar power system. But the lawmakers had opined that the contract should be awarded to the lowest bidder as per the Public Procurement Act and the existing financial provisions. They further demanded action against the then Energy Minister and the NEA Executive Director who were involved in the decision process.
Some lawmakers proposed that the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) should be called in to investigate into the entire process, suspecting irregularities of millions of rupees in the tender process.

Lawmakers Ramhari Khatiwada, Bharat Shah, Dhanraj Gurung, Pashupati Chaulagain and Ananda Pokharel had suggested this in the meeting.

Likewise, legislators Meena Pun and Rupa Maharjan said that while action is taken against the leadership of the NEA, can create a negative impact, because the leadership has played an important role in reducing the lack of power. Kafle then told CEO the decision to hire a company that had proposed the decision Rs 2.3 billion and after 10 months overturned and contacted the company after more than Rs 680 million more was taken than previously proposed amount.

The Nepal Electricity Authority says it will establish at least 10 charging stations for electric vehicles in the Kathmandu Valley within the next six months. It would support the government’s plan to promote green vehicles in the capital, according to government-managed energy regulators. The Authority has recently published a notice looking for premises for the construction of these stations. A business complex, cinemas, supermarkets, parks, universities, government agencies, hotels and hospitals were asked to apply. Sagar Mani Gyawali, deputy director of the department of energy efficiency authority, the charging stations are erected in places where the vehicle movement is more common in the first phase. It would also help businesses in their respective places to grow. At one station, three vehicles can be loaded simultaneously. One station could accommodate about 50 vehicles. Gyawali says the agency would invest 100 million rupees in 10 charging stations. He adds that within a few days, the Authority will seek bids for the supply of station equipment. Around 600 electric vehicles drive in the capital. Users now upload them at home. According to Kathmandu Authority, such stations plans to gradually establish Pokhara, Chitwan, Biratnagar and Nepalgunj.

In Lalitpur you will probably be exposed to a power outage in the city again. Electricity Authority of Nepal said that they cannot distribute electricity to several areas of the district and local, dissatisfied with the proposed transmission line Thankot-Chapagaun-Bhaktapur 132 KV Authority, he opened a node of one of the towers in Khokana, forcing them to topple over. It had been a few days since the tower collapsed. NEA’s general manager, Kul Man Ghising, visited the site on Wednesday. It’s been about 20 years since the agency launched the project. His work in the Lalitpur district, however, was often hampered by the locals, which led to a delay. However, the project work in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur districts was completed. “Although they have enough power after completing a 1,500-megawatt substation Matatirtha’s Lalitpur there could not be, if the transmission line is not there,” said Ghising.

The Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project under construction, the Nepal Electricity Authority considers an innovative project for the country’s energy sector to begin the electricity generation goal from January 2020.

The executive director of the agency, Kul Man Ghising, says that Nepal will then sell power to India. Ghising says he’s in the Dolakha district to visit the 456-megawatt project almost every month to make sure everything happens on time. “This project is not only important for the NEA, but also for the whole country,” said Ghising project staff in Lamabagar district last Friday. “There should be no delay in the project.” He asserted that NEA management was ready to solve any problem the project might face in the future. NEA officials say the project would be completed if the 2015 earthquake and the blockade on the Indian border did not disrupt construction.

The Government owned Power Distribution, Nepal Electricity Authority, earned a net profit of 2,848 crore in fiscal year 2017/18, according to the annual report of the Office of the Auditor General. This is more than double the estimate established by the Authority. NEA’s executive director, Kul Man Ghising, had estimated that the agency would achieve a net profit of Rs1.01 trillion. According to the 56th Annual Report of the Auditor General, the Authority’s reserve fund was down 23,598 million rupees last year. In the previous year it was 26.335 billion rupees less. The gap between two was considered a net gain. The report confirmed that the government’s financial position improves as net income and working capital increase. Debt and personnel costs have also fallen.

Concerned officials of the Nepalese government said they had initiated a preparation for the initial establishment of the Electricity Regulatory Commission in the country. The Commission of five members is expected to be formed shortly, as two years have already passed since the entry into force of the Electricity Regulatory Act. The new Commission will take over the regulatory role of the Electricity Authority of Nepal. In addition, initiatives would be taken to protect the interests of electricity consumers. Then, under the direction of Energy Minister Sanjaya Sharma, a body was formed to appoint the members of the Commission. He had obtained inquiries from experts. It has been said that the other energy minister, Anup Kumar Upadhyaya, will almost certainly take the first position in the new body. He had recently submitted his resignation to the current position to secure the new position, the sources said.
For the first time in the country, the Nepalese Electricity Authority introduced a new system that does not require its employees to visit individual houses to read power meters and determine their positions. In the first phase, the Advanced Meter Reading Infrastructure (AMI) was installed in 362 residential and office buildings under the distribution center Ratna Park in the NEA. According to the NEA engineer Dristi Pandey, the individual meters are equipped with a modem according to the new system, with which the meter can be read out by the distribution center itself. Corporate customers have priority for now, and in the second phase, private customers will benefit, according to Thir Kumar Khatri, Head of Distribution Center. It has been said that the new technology is a step in the NEA’s approach to the smart meter system.

The country’s only electricity utility, the Electricity Authority of Nepal, had asked the public to illuminate their seats as often as they wanted, because Tihar, also called the Festival of Lights, provided for that. In previous years, the Authority encouraged them to be cautious about additional energy needs in order to avoid supply volatility and unfavorable disruptions. However, the Authority says that consumers should not worry about the interruption this time.
The agency’s spokesman, Prabal Adhikari, said the agency lit their offices with decorative lights to tell the public that the country had already effectively addressed the energy crisis. “They installed decorative lights to signal that they were approaching the deficit surplus and the era of the energy crisis is over,” says Adhikari. “They are confident that they will deliver as much power as they need during Tihar.” The government agency for the production and distribution of electricity had instructed its employees in the production, operations and maintenance department not to leave their work stations during the Tihar Festival. The aim of the directive is to ensure an uninterrupted power supply during the five-day festival of lights and colors. Nepal Electricity Authority officials say the directive aims to avoid the problems that have arisen in recent years due to the lack of technical staff during the festival. If necessary, according to the Authority, employees had to inform senior officials when they left the workplace. The authority’s headquarters had informed the staff that the heads of their respective departments and distribution centers were responsible for the event of a power outage.

The power distributor from the government, Nepal Electricity Authority had begun to sign a service contract with key personnel across the country in its attempt to sign power loss during the distribution process. Manager of the authority, Kul Man Ghising, Director signed the contract with the head of the regional office in Nepalgunj, Manoj Kumar Singh, during a job in Nepalgunj of Banke district. In the same capacity, Deputy Managing Director, Sales and Consumer Services Authority, Hararaj Neupane, swapped contracts with the heads of 16 distribution centers. Energy Minister Barsha Man Pun and Ministry Secretary Anup Upadhyaya were also present. The agency claims that after a successful experiment in the Biratnagar office last year, it extended the contract system to other locations. In the first phase, the agency would sign contracts with the heads of eight distribution centers.
While the energy loss last year was 20.45 percent, the agency wanted to limit it to 11.65 percent this year.

In an attempt to promote good governance, the Electricity Authority of Nepal, which regulators also produce and distribute electricity approved throughout the country, had rejected its earlier ruling, which eliminated the mandatory requirement of double support for union leaders. , According to the director of the authority, Tularam Giri, a staff meeting of the authority, he held last week decided that all staff except readers, their participation in the time, should mark all the office of joining and leaving days Previously, the authority had allowed the union leaders to sign her signature only once a day. It was learned that the administration’s authority decided to implement the rule more rigorously as the union leaders focused their efforts on executives transferring employees in their favor to put pressure. Employees loyal to the main political parties had different unions in the agency.

The Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barsha Man Pun says that every family in the country will have the opportunity to invest in hydropower projects soon. He says that the government is making preparations so that each of the approximately 5.6 million households receives a share in the hydropower projects.
Minister Pun said, “The government’s dream of bringing prosperity to every house in Nepal would be accomplished by investing in the energy sector.” He said that the government would award contracts for hydropower projects through competition, not on the basis of political power and pressure. Contracting on the basis of the political power game would lead to delays in construction and higher costs. The Minister thanked the staff of the Authority for stopping the regular blackout, but also urged them to further improve their working style.

The last substation in Nepal in Dhalkebar in Dhanusha district near the Nepalese-Indian border has been operating since last night, reports the Nepal Electricity Authority. The substation should facilitate the reciprocal energy trade between the two neighbors. You can import and export electricity from 270 to 300 megawatts. Nepal is currently importing electricity from India, but expects to export energy from next year during the monsoon season.
The executive director of the agency, Kul Man Ghising, said the wards had been charged since 11pm the night before. “This is a milestone for improving the internal transmission grid and energy trading between the two countries,” he adds. “The spokesman for the Authority and the Ministry of Commerce, Prabal Adhikari, says that the completion of the substation means that the entire infrastructure for the import and export of energy to and from India is ready.” He says Nepal is selling electricity India will begin as soon as the construction of the Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectricity Project is completed.
The operation of the substations can be monitored by the Cargo Dispatch Center in Kathmandu. The government and the authority had invested in the project, while the World Bank had granted a subsidized loan.

While Nepal is still committed to buying electricity from India during the dry season, the country now says its production already exceeds demand monsoons. That’s why the Nepal Electricity Authority says it exports electricity to India during the monsoon season. The agency also reports that Nepal had more than necessary electricity during this rainy season. However, exporting to southern neighbors was not possible, this time by the lack of an agreement between the two countries to begin a project of energy banking. Authority leadership says it will endeavor to sign the agreement as soon as possible so that the country does not lose energy.

Currently, Nepal had between 30 and 40 megawatts of power every night was wasted, according to officials of the authority. Nepal imports 500 megawatts of electricity from India during the dry season. Meanwhile, India is also positive about the purchasing power of Nepal, officials said.

The Nepal Electricity Authority announced supply enough electricity for all Special Economic Zones (EEZs). The executive director of the NEA, Kul Man Ghising said the necessary amount of electricity, the government announced special areas announced. Organized on a program Speaking in the capital on Sunday, Ghising also urged the concerned authorities complained about the lack of electricity in SWZ to stop. “He already had a commitment to the Ministry of Industry in writing before enough energy to provide areas 6 months,” said Ghising. He also made it clear that the electricity in the Bhairahawa Special Economic Zone can be delivered immediately. “13.5 megawatts of electricity needed, required for Bhairahawa EEZ immediately”. Even after him, the necessary substations have already been conducted in SEZ throughout the country.

The head of the Electricity Authority of Nepal, Kul Man Ghising, says director that entrepreneurs who pay a fine to the authority by the unforeseen delay did not complete their duties transmission lines in time must incur a huge loss to the company public. As a contractor responsible for building transmission lines cannot do their work on time, electricity generated from hydropower projects cannot be used properly; and the authority had to pay a penalty to project organizers in this case. From now on, the authority would make contractors pay the fine to the authority and the promoters would be delivered to Ghising. Apparently, Ghising made the decision to hire the contractor for the transmission line corridor Solu did not meet the deadline. According to the performance purchase agreement, the government had to pay 45 percent of the production penalty as promoters for energy did not bring transmission lines to the national grid.

Although Nepal imports electricity from India during the dry season, it expects to produce excess energy in the monsoon and sell it to India. In addition, dozens of projects with a capacity of 1,594 megawatts are under construction here, while projects with a capacity of 6,000 megawatts are pending. According to the spokesman of the Electricity Authority of Nepal, Prabal Adhikari, at a meeting between the Secretaries of Energy of both countries, she held this week in India, New Delhi was positive when considering the request of Nepal for the review, taking into account the decision. Occasionally India also reported that, according to him, the review of its rules and regulations was the electricity trade between countries. Meanwhile, the Indian side of the Nepalese delegation led by Energy Minister Anup Upadhyaya, which would balance India’s electrical system, said when Nepal implemented the banking system energy implements. However, the introduction of this system required a lot of study on both sides, officials said.
Kul Man Ghising is the Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, the public utility in charge of distributing and regulating the power sector in the country. Ghising, who was appointed to the post in September 2016, had been credited for ending power cuts, which at one point of time reached up to 20 hours a day, by introducing managerial reforms and scientific load management in the public utility. In April 2017, Ghising announced that Nepal no longer needs to worry about power cuts. He says that Nepal should now focus on making the most use of its installed capacity. Promoting EVs would be one of the best ways to do that, he adds. Abhaya Raj Joshi and Sudil Pokharel recently talked to Ghising about NEA’s plans related to EVs.

The Nepal government says they would buy domestically produced solar power at Rs 7.30 per unit. It had already decided thatNepal Electricity Authority purchase the solar power from individual households and connect it to the national grid. Now, the Ministry of Energy had finalised a working procedure to facilitate the purchase.
According to the document, individuals do not need any approval from the government to produce solar power from 500 watts to 10 kilowatts for the domestic use. Producers of 10 to 99 kilowatt powers had been categorised as institutional producers and those producing above that as commercial producers. Institutional and commercial producers had to obtain a licence from the Electricity Development Department. They had to begin power generation within two years of obtaining the licence.

This business group monitors, operates and constructs transmission lines and substation facilitating to evacuate power generated by both NEA and IPP owned power plants and undertakes reinforcement of the existing transmission system. Nepal’s first-ever 400kV Nepal-India cross-border transmission link is completed in the previous fiscal year with the leading involvement of this business group. Currently this line had been charged at 132kV voltage level and importing upto 145 MW of power. Moreover the testing and commissioning of 220/132 kV, 2×160 MVA Power transformers at Dhalkebar substation had been completed successfully on 15th July 2018 and now they had been charged under no load using 132 kV power. NEA had planned to charge the above power transformer by charging the 400 kV Dhalkebar Muzzafarpur transmission line on 220 kV level within 15th August 2018. In order to develop a strong east-west Transmission Network the Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa 400kV transmission line is under construction.

The number of consumers of NEA had been increasing gradually. The total number of consumers increased from 3.26 million to 3.55 million including community and bulk buyers during the year. As had been in the past, the domestic consumer category with 3.33 million consumers remained the largest category with 93.83% share of the entire electricity consumers. Domestic and Industrial consumer category contributed MANAGING DIRECTOR’S REPORT 10 Nepal Electricity Authority A YEAR IN REVIEW FISCAL YEAR 2017/18 43.50 % and 37.53 % to the gross electricity sales revenue respectively. Rest of the consumer category accounted for the remaining 18.72% of the gross sales revenue. The total population with access to grid electricity had reached about 70% from 65 % in the last fiscal year.

NEA’s hydropower plants including small power stations generated a total of 2,308.37 GWh of electricity, against the generation of 2,305.17 GWh in the last year. The generation within the country had not been sufficient in eradicating load shedding; additional power had to be imported from India. The total energy imported from India was 2,581.80 GWh as compared to 2,175.04 GWh in the last year, an increase by 18.70%. The total power purchased from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) within Nepal was 2,167.76 GWh, an increase by 21.97% from the last year’s figure of 1,777.24 GWh. The total energy available in NEA’s system increased by 12.79 % to 7,057.93 GWh over the previous year’s figure of 6,257.73 GWh. Out of the total available energy, NEA’s own generation contributed 32.71% whereas those imported from India and local IPPs accounted for 36.58% and 30.71% respectively. A nationwide drive was launched to reduce system losses. This had shown positive results reducing the system losses from 25.78 % to 22.9 % in FY 2016/17 and to 20.45% in the year under review.

The amount of loss that still persists is still not within acceptable limits and continued drive to minimize it is underway nationwide. Financial Performance After many years of huge financial losses, NEA managed to earn a net profit of NRs 1,512.22 million in the fiscal year 2016/17. The net profit in the last fiscal year 2017/18 is NRs 1,010.20 million (provisional). The total revenue generated from energy sales and other income in the year reached NRs 60,480.67 million as compared to NRs 51,703.11 million in the previous year. This is an increase of 16.98 % from the previous year. The growth in energy sales and subsequently the increase in revenue should be attributed to the total eradication of load shedding during the year. At the same time it had also helped a great deal in saving valuable foreign currency reserve of the country that was being used to import additional petrol/ diesel for the generators, batteries, invertors and solar panels used to counter the darkness during load shedding hours. NEA’s overall operating expenses including power purchase increased from NRs 45,572.09 million in the FY 2016/17 to NRs 52,621.37 million in FY 2017/18, an increase of 16.98 %. The main reasons behind this increase in the operational cost are the increase in the power purchase cost and staff salary due to additional recruitment. In the FY 2017/18 NEA had a total revenue of NRs 60,480.67 million as against the operational expenses of NRs 52,621.37 million resulting in an operational surplus of NRs 7,859.3 million as against NRs 6,717.77 in the FY 2016/17.

The cost for purchasing power had again been the largest component in the total operating expenses in the year under review. NEA spent NRs 33,817.27 million in purchasing power from the various Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and import from India. This is 55.91 % of the total revenue generated. Energy from purchased power amounted to 67.3 % of the total available energy and NEA paid 61.54 % of the net electricity sales revenue for this purpose. The total cost of purchased power increased by 19.36 % in the FY 2017/18 as compared to FY 2016/17 due to the increase in the volume of import and to some extent because of normal price escalation in power purchase. Other operating expenses for generation, royalty, transmission, distribution and administration in the last FY 2017/18 amounted to NRs 1,775.94 million, NRs 1,351.55 million, NRs 1,998.93 million, 7,828.68 million and NRs 1,717.41 million respectively. Interest expense for the year 2017/18 had been calculated as NRs 4,086.39 million as compared to NRs 3,546.15 million in the previous year 2016/17. FISCAL YEAR 2017/18 Nepal Electricity Authority 11 MANAGING DIRECTOR’S REPORT The growth in revenue should also be attributed to the increase in energy sales after the eradication of load shedding and supply of continuous power throughout the country.

NEA estimated a provision of NRs 2,500 million towards the long term employee liabilities in respect of gratuity, pension, medical facilities and accumulated leave facilities under employees’ benefi t plan scheme. Administrative Functions NEA approved “Service Contract Procedure 2074” and “Internship Procedure 2074” which had enabled outsourcing of staffs for its better performance. Organization and Management Reform Committee had been rigorously working on assessing organizational reform and staff requirements. NEA recruited 743 new staffs of various levels in FY 2017/18, which had increased the total staff to 9125.

Ongoing Projects The delays caused by the massive earthquake and the subsequent Terai Bandh had definitely postponed the completion date by halting the progress in the under construction hydropower projects being undertaken by NEA. Though the regular construction work, after the earthquake, re-started just over a year ago, the projects still need some more time for completion

Chamelia HEP had been stuck for years as decisions were not timely taken to sort out the various issues with the different contractors. One of the major achievements of the past year 2017/18 had been the completion of Chamelia. The project started generation from one unit on 12th January, 2018 and was formally inaugurated on 10th February, 2018 with generation from both units. Kulekhani III HEP had not been completed even though nearly all of the civil works are complete and most of the electro-mechanical equipments are already at site. As of July 2018 all of the civil works except for some minor patches are complete and nearly 80% of the electromechanical works are also complete. It is expected to start generation by December, 2018.

The earthquake of April, 2015 caused maximum damage in the under construction Trishuli 3A HEP. The construction works by the Contractors CGGC and CWE restarted after nearly two years. The work progress in the last year had been satisfactory and the commissioning date of the project, as scheduled last year, is still April, 2019.

There are several transmission lines that had been completed in the year under review 2017/18. The total length of transmission line, above 132 kV, completed is 382 Ckt km. Similarly a total of 1190 MVA substation capacity had been added to the system. There are numerous transmission line projects under different phases of construction, some in the process of tendering and some in the Feasibility study stage. The line length of under construction transmission lines under 132 kV, 220 kV and 400 kV levels are 1,427 Ckt. Km, 5,782 Ckt km and 740 Ckt km respectively. Similarly the capacity of substation under construction under 132 kV, 220 kV and 400 kV level are 1,292 MVA, 4,905 MVA and 945 MVA respectively. NEA Subsidiary Companies

The successful implementation of Chilime Hydropower as a subsidiary company of NEA encouraged the development of more projects under the company mode to ensure early decision making as well as proper public participation for the timely completion of the projects. The projects transferred or in the process of being transferred to company mode and the progresses achieved thus far are as follows;

Chilime Hydropower Company Limited (CHCL): CHCL was formed as a subsidiary of NEA and owns the Chilime HEP (20 MW). After the successful completion and operation of Chilime HEP, CHCL had moved ahead with the formation of three subsidiary companies of its own, namely; Rashuwagadhi Hydropower Company Limited (RGHCL) to develop Rashwagadhi HEP (111 MW), Madhya Bhotekoshi Jalvidyut Company Limited (MBJCL) to develop Middle Bhotekoshi HEP and Sanjen Jalvidyut Company Limited (SJCL) to develop Sanjen HEP (42.5 MW) and Upper Sanjen HEP (14.8 MW). All these projects are in different stages of construction. Similarly CHCL had invested and established Chilime Engineering and Services Company Ltd (ChesCo) to provide consultancy services for the development of Hydropower projects.

There are three different hydropower projects in different phases of study for future development. CHCL is also in the process of constructing a corporate office building starting this fiscal year. Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Limited (UTKHPL): The biggest project till date, Upper Tamakoshi HEP (456 MW) is being built in the company mode under UTKHPL utilizing domestic financial resources. It is one of the national pride projects. Most of the civil works are complete and the project is expected to be commissioned in this FY 2018/19. The PPA was signed on 29th December, 2010. After completion of Upper Tamakoshi, UTKHPL intends to develop the 22 MW Rolwaling Khola HEP (RKHEP). A contract had been signed between UTKHPL and NEA Engineering Company to prepare Detailed Engineering Design and Bidding Documents of RKHEP.

Tanahu Hydropower Limited, established as a Subsidiary Company of NEA to promote the storage type Tanahu Hydropower Project (140 MW), aims to commence the major construction activities by the end of October 2018. After evaluation of Bids and subsequent approval from the respective co-financiers, Letters of Acceptance had been issued to substantially responsive and lowest evaluated bidders for both major construction packages. The pre-construction activities such as construction of access road to dam and powerhouse sites, camp facilities and a new 33/11 kV sub-station for construction power supply are in the final stage of completion. The compensation distribution to the affected people is also almost completed.

Trishuli Jal Vidhyut Company Limited (TJVCL): This Company was established as a joint venture of NEA and Nepal Telecom Company Limited, to develop Upper Trishuli 3B HEP (37 MW) as a cascade of Upper Trishuli 3A. An EPC contract was signed with Sichuan ANHE Hydraulic and Hydroelectric Engineering Co. Ltd., China on 12th February, 2018 for Civil, Hydro-mechanical and Electro-mechanical works. The scheduled completion date of the project is March, 2021. Raghuganga Hydropower Limited (RGHL): RGHL was established as a subsidiary company of NEA to develop Rahughat Hydroelectric Project (40 MW). After terminating the main civil contractor and increasing the installed capacity to 40 MW, Contract Agreement, on EPC mode, for the construction of Civil and Hydro-mechanical works was signed on 21st November, 2017 with Jaiprakash Associates Limited, India. The Contractor was issued the “Notice to Proceed on 23rd May, 2018 after receiving the approval from the Exim Bank of India.

Upper Arun Hydroelectric Ltd (UAHEL): UAHEL was formed as a subsidiary company of NEA for the development of Upper Arun Hydroelectric Project (725 MW) and Ikuwa Khola Hydroelectric Project (30 MW). The Consultant for detailed Engineering Design and Preparation of Bidding Documents of Upper Arun (UAHEP) and Ikuwa Khola (IKHPP) had submitted the Inception Report. The final Detailed Engineering Design Report and Bidding Documents are expected by June 2020. Similarly, the Consultant for Detailed Engineering Design, Tender Document Preparation and Construction Supervision and Contract Management of Access Road construction would submit its final reports by December, 2018.

Tamakoshi Jalvidyut Company Limited: Tamakoshi Jalvidyut Company Limited had been registered as a subsidiary Company of NEA for the development of Tamakoshi V HEP (95 MW). This is a cascade development of the under construction Upper Tamakoshi HEP. Lahmeyer International GmbH FISCAL YEAR 2017/18 Nepal Electricity Authority 13 MANAGING DIRECTOR’S REPORT is presently engaged in the Detailed Engineering Design and Tender Document preparation. Approximately 150m of the total 170m test adit excavation is completed. The interconnection system with Upper Tamakoshi tailrace is already under construction using the Contractor working for Upper Tamakoshi. EOI documents for the main construction [Contract 1-Civil and Hydro-mechanical works and Contract-2 Electro-mechanical works] are being prepared. Negotiation and correspondences with various National and International Financing Agencies for Project Financing are being carried out and the project intends to finalize its funding soon.

Dudhkoshi Jalvidyut Company Limited: This company, as a subsidiary of NEA, had been established for the implementation of Dudhkoshi Storage HEP (600 MW). ELC Electro consult S.p.A. (Italy) in association with NEWJEC Inc. (Japan) with the grant assistance of Asian Development Bank, the updated feasibility and detail design are being carried out under Project Preparatory Facility for Energy (PPFE). The overall objective of the Consulting Services is to prepare the project for implementation. This study phase is to be completed in 30 months. The construction of the project is expected to commence from the third quarter of 2020.

Modi Jalbidhyut Company: The Company had been formed for the development in the company mode of two projects in cascade, Modi HEP (42 MW) and Modi A HEP (18.2 MW) with the combined conceived installed capacity of 60.2 MW. The Detail Design work had been awarded to AF Consult-Switzerland Limited in association with ITECO Nepal Pvt. Ltd. and Total Management Services Pvt. Ltd. The Consultant started the detailed design as per the TOR from April 29, 2018 with the total design period of 10 month. The construction would be through Single stage two envelop system of bidding and would be developed in the Company Model. The necessary land acquisition process had already been started.

Utter Ganga Power company: This company had been formed for the development of Utter Ganga Storage Hydropower Project (828 MW). This is a high head project with a gross head of more than 1,300 m with minimum resettlement issue. Geotechnical and topographical works had been carried out in the last fiscal year. Hydrological data at the dam site as well as the tailrace site are being collected. EIA study is under way.

Tamor Power Company Limited (TPCL): TPCL had been formed for the development of Tamor Storage Hydroelectric Project (762 MW). Project Development Department (PDD) carried out optimization study which shows the project to be more attractive at higher FSL even with inundation of Kabeli -A (37.6 MW) and Lower Hewa (21.6 MW). On this basis, PDD is conducting the feasibility study with an installed capacity of 762 MW and FSL of 550 masl. The EOI for shortlisting potential consulting fi rms, for the Detail Engineering Design of the project, are being evaluated. The preparation of RFP documents are in their fi nal stage.

Andhi Khola Power Company Limited: The company had been formed to develop Andhi Khola Storage Hydroelectric Project (180 MW). PDD is currently carrying out the Updated Feasibility study. Field investigation and Survey works are being carried out. EIA study is also under way. During the current fiscal year, EOI and RFP would be called from International Consulting Firms for Detail Engineering Design and Tender Document preparation. Major environmental impact is the relocation of 500 households and inundation of headwork structure of 9.4 MW Andhikhola ROR project owned by BPC.

Chainpur Seti Hydroelectric Project (210 MW): This project is currently being studied by PDD as a PROR (six hour peaking) project located in Bajhang district. Project design, cost estimate and fi nancial analysis had been conducted. The Detailed Design and Tender Document preparation is planned to be conducted by International Consultants, the EOI and RFP documents for same would be completed in the fi rst half of this fi scal year. 14 Nepal Electricity Authority A YEAR IN REVIEW FISCAL YEAR 2017/18

NEA Engineering Company Limited (NEAEC): NEA had also formed the NEAEC to provide complete engineering services solutions to the power sector. NEA holds majority ownership (51 %), with remaining 49 % held by other companies. The company intends to build national engineering capability for large hydro-projects, extra high voltage engineering and similar techno-intensive areas and provide a resource pool of competent man-power to the private sector to draw upon. At present the company is undertaking studies at different levels of five hydropower projects. It had also undertaken the construction supervision of 400 kV Dhalkebar Substation. To pursue research oriented work, it had signed MOUs with Tribhuvan and Kathmandu Universities. It had also entered into MOUs with international companies to obtain international expertise whenever required.

Power Transmission Company Nepal Limited (PTCN): It is a subsidiary company of NEA with the objective of developing high voltage transmission interconnection system between Nepal and India for the mutual benefi t of both countries. Two joint venture companies, one in India and other in Nepal, were incorporated for the implementation of 400 kV double circuit interconnection between Muzaffarpur and Dhalkebar.

Nepal Power Trading Company Limited (NPTC): NPTC is established with the objective of carrying out power trading function within and outside the country. The company is in the initial stage of operation. This would be a vital institution in future operation. Similarly other subsidiary companies formed and in the initial stages of implementation are Transformer Utpadan Company Limited and Tower & Pole Utpadan Company Limited. NEA had been making all efforts in promoting Private Sectors to support us fulfilling the energy demand. NEA had fixed posted rates for energy purchase from three categories of Hydropower projects; viz Run of River (ROR), Peaking Run of River (PROR) and Storage type projects. Foreign Direct Investment had also been encouraged with the PPA signing of Upper Trishuli 1 HEP (216 MW) and Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi HEP (120 MW).

A total of 15 new projects developed by the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) with a combined installed capacity of 71.643 MW were commissioned in the FY 2017/18. This had increased the total number of IPP owned projects in operation to 75 with a combined installed capacity of 512.6954 MW. A total of 107 projects to be developed by IPPs, with a combined installed capacity of 2,356.313 MW are under construction after financial closure. Similarly, 74 IPP owned projects with a combined installed capacity of 1,658.817 MW are in the various stages of development. During the FY 2017/18, a total of 45 new PPAs were signed with a combined installed capacity of 1,102.909 MW. This had increased the total number of PPA signed with the various IPPs to 256 with the combined installed capacity of 4,527.8254 MW.

PPAs with grid-tied solar power projects had also started at the new flat rate approved by the NEA Board. Power Trading with India Power exchange with India improved meaningfully in the last year. NEA was successful in holding India-Nepal Power Exchange Committee (PEC) meeting with Central Electricity Authority and the State Power Utilities of India in New Delhi on August 8, 2017 after 2011. In the absence of PEC meetings, NEA was bound to pay the energy tariff with 5.5 % escalation per annum at all voltage levels. The eleventh PEC meeting fixed the tariff at IRs. 5.55, 6.00 and 6.45 per kWh at 132 kV, 33 kV and 11 kV voltage levels respectively which helped NEA improve its financial performance in the fiscal year 2017/18. The quantum of the corresponding energy import under this power exchange mode reached 1507.39 GWh FISCAL YEAR 2017/18 Nepal Electricity Authority 15 MANAGING DIRECTOR’S REPORT corresponding to NRs.13,190.98 million in total.

Another notable activity in power trading was the signing of the Power Purchase Agreement on 28th March, 2018 between NEA and NTPC Viduyt Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), the nodal agency of the government of the India for dealing with power trading issues with Nepal. The quantum of power agreed was up to 120 MW to be transmitted to Nepal through Dhalkebar – Mujaffarpur Cross Board Transmission Line for the period of 15 months effective from April 1, 2018 and corresponding tariffs agreed were IRs. 3.98/KWh for the first sixth months and IRs.4.18/KWh for the remaining nine months. The quantum of the corresponding energy import under this power trading mode reached 883.49 GWh corresponding to NRs. 5,195.55 million in total.

NEA also imported power through Tanakpur at IRs. 3.44/KWh under the Power Purchase Agreement with PTC India Limited for some months of the dry season as in the earlier fiscal years and the quantum of the corresponding energy import under this power trading mode reached 120.9 GWh corresponding to NRs. 652.73 million in total. NEA had also been making efforts to augment the capacity of Tanakpur Substation from 50 MVA to 100 MVA to enable Nepal to exchange higher quantum of power through this point in future. Considering the power surplus scenario in Nepal during the wet season and deficit in dry season for some years to come, NEA proposed energy banking with India in light of the seasonal differences of demand and supply of electricity in Nepal as well as India. Preparation of a procedural framework in this regard is in progress after NEA recently gave a detailed deliberation on it with the concerned Indian entities in New Delhi. This issue had also been discussed in the last Joint Steering Committee (JSC)/Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings.

Two new 132 kV Transmission lines, KataiyaKushaha II and Raxaul-Parwanipur, were commissioned in the FY 2017/18 under the grant assistance of Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. The commercial arrangement for drawing power of 50 MW from each of them through North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited was made under India-Nepal PEC. Further, NEA proposed three new 132 kV transmission lines to be built between Nepal and the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh for the additional power exchange between Nepal and India in future. Maximum power import from India in peak hours reached 521 MW in April/May, 2018, whereas the highest average power withdrawal recorded was 425 MW in January/February, 2018. The total quantum of energy transaction with a rise of 18.7 % reached to 2,581.78 GWh including 70 million units under the Mahakali Treaty. This corresponded to a payment of NRs. 19,371.76 million in the fiscal year 2017/18 against NRs 16,051.31 million for 2,175.04 GWh in the year 2016/17.

The main objectives of NEA as an organization is to satisfy its consumers with continuous, reliable and quality supply of electricity as well as to maintain reasonable financial returns to sustain as a business entity and plan for its future expansion. The end to the decade long load shedding through integrated resource planning including imports and efficient management had given hope of achieving the long-standing goal of becoming self-reliant in electricity generation and supply. The eradication of load shedding had also improved the financial health of NEA substantially. This had shown that proper management of the available resources can help improve a company’s financial conditions. NEA had strategic plans to reduce operation cost, increase generation, maximize sales with reduction in system loss and increase additional income from mobilization of additional resources. Proactive efforts would be made to adjust electricity tariff to cover the cost of service.

The 25 MW grid connected solar farm under construction in Devighat is a prime achievement in this regard. Similarly PPAs for private solar generation had also been initiated.
The completion of the Dhalkebar 220/132 kV substation had given an additional 100 MW of import capacity. Similarly the completion of the Kushaha-Kataiya second circuit and Raxaul-Parwanipur 132 kV Transmission Line would also add another 100 MW import possibility. With the completion of the above facilities, the importing capacity from India during the dry season would be more than 600 MW. Completion of Hydropower projects like Upper Tamakoshi and other IPP projects in the next year would see an addition of more than 600 MW to the system. Similarly with the completion of under construction generation and transmission projects, they can expect an addition of more than 1200 MW to the system within the next 2-3 years.
NEA had already signed PPAs with IPPs for more than 4500 MW. These are mostly ROR type projects with a few exceptions. PPA for one storage type project was signed with Tanahu Hydropower Company Limited. As a long term strategy to cater to the load demands at different time of the day as well as during the different seasons, they are focusing on Peaking Run-of-River (PROR) as well as Storage type projects to meet the generation mix defined in “National Energy Crisis Mitigation and Electricity Development Decade Concept/Action Plan, 2072”. In this vein, they are developing Dudhkoshi (800 MW), Tamor (762 MW), Uttarganga (828 MW) and Andhikhola (180 MW) storage type projects and Upper Arun (725 MW) and Tamakoshi V (100 MW) PROR type projects.
To attract private investment in Storage as well as PROR type projects, PPA rates for the same were also fixed. Another important aspect that needs immediate attention to ensure that the power generated from the proposed plants be evacuated timely is the construction of a Transmission Line network.

NEA is developing a 400kV transmission line backbone with support from the various donor agencies; such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Union, Exim Banks of India and China etc. Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funded by the US government had also initiated the development of 400 kV transmission line in the central part of Nepal. Moreover, one 400 kV cross border link with India from New Butwal (Nepal) to Gorakhpur (India) and one with China from Galchi (Nepal) to Kerung (China) had already been initiated and are expected to be completed within the next five years.

More cross border lines are proposed with India to be initiated in the near future. These interconnections would enhance power wheeling possibility across the border and promote energy banking and export/ import opportunity. In line with Government Policy to make access of electricity to all within next five years and to cater 10 thousand megawatts of power by next ten years, NEA had initiated distribution capacity expansion in the rural areas and distribution system upgrading in the industrial corridor in the Terai and the main cities including Kathmandu. Without major augmentation and reinforcement of Distribution network within the next few years, the increase in demand with the increase in supply would not be met.

Similarly for safety and reliability reasons as well as from the aesthetic point of view, the main distribution lines of Kathmandu are planned to had an underground system. NEA had started the procedure of adopting modern digital technology into its system to enhance its operational efficiency, reduce energy theft and enable itself to serve its customers in a better way. The implementation of Smart Grid and Smart Metering system would definitely increase efficiency and reduce losses. The integration of solar energy into its grid system through net metering is also planned to be expanded. Solar PPA signing with the new revised rates had already started.

The online centralized bill payment system had been initiated and would be expanded to all the customers. FISCAL YEAR 2017/18 Nepal Electricity Authority 17 This would facilitate customers to pay their bills on time. The demand side management with energy efficiency program announced last year would be NEA’s focus area in the years ahead. LED lamps, efficient fans, capacitor banks etc. are the major energy efficiency programs to be implemented to reduce peak and energy demands of the system as a whole. NEA would be looking for ways to increase its revenue with the optimal use of its available resources.

Steps had been taken to lease out the communication network of NEA, available all over the country, at reasonable prices. This can be an additional source of income. The communication system can also be expanded to the ward level through our distribution infrastructure.

NEA owns land at prime locations in the cities. There are plans for developing business complexes in selected areas to augment its additional income sources. NEA would had its corporate and system planning functions for its short term and long term strategic planning. NEA initiated the institutional reform and financial restructuring process last year. Financial Restructuring process should continue until the organization is fully sustainable in all respect

Engineering and Power Trading companies had already been established. The Engineering Company had been fully functional with quite a large work load. NEA had 48% share in the government owned Grid Company. The seven autonomous regional distribution offices, approved by NEA Board last year, should be established and made functional within this fiscal year. Once the distribution offices start functioning under the state governments, they can be used to initiate a system of multiple traders of electricity to facilitate the buyers to choose the cheapest option. Modern trading platform would be developed for short term trading of electricity.

Load dispatch center would be augmented to central and regional levels with modern operational facilities. The Power Trading system would had to be redefined once projects like Upper Tamakoshi and the projects being developed by subsidiary companies of Chilime are commissioned. A situation would arise when the Integrated Nepal Power System would experience a wet season surplus and deficit during the dry season. The idea of energy banking, devised last year, may be the only possible mechanism to cater to this surplus/ deficit scenario. There are enough grounds to be optimistic for energy banking mechanism with neighboring states of India. Discussions on energy banking had been initiated in Joint Steering Committee (JSC), Joint Working Group (JWG) and PEC meetings.

Another major focus in the future would be on energy leveling by increasing domestic energy demand during off-peak hours. NEA had started the process of implementing the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to enhance the efficiency and management capability within the organization. A world class ERP software designed to rapidly adjust to changes in technology and business to maximize enterprise agility is in the process of being acquired. The ultimate target is to make the organization digitized and paperless. NEA is planning to bring each and every generation, transmission and distribution related installation into a GIS base map with the implementation of Geographical Mapping System. Similarly, a Distribution System Master Plan would help NEA bring reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity services to all households and businesses in the country. This would be achieved using the most appropriate, efficient and least cost on or off-grid technological solution to optimize allocation of resources from the country’s perspective and would provide a detailed roadmap with strong consensus from the different stakeholders, encompassing the necessary regulatory, institutional, technical and financial arrangements.

NEA is underway to install Smart Meters to the end users to improve system management and loss reduction. It would solve different meter-reading related problems and facilitate Online Bill Payment System through commercial banks. Substation Automation System (SAS) is being implemented in all projects under construction and those coming MANAGING DIRECTOR’S REPORT 18 Nepal Electricity Authority A YEAR IN REVIEW FISCAL YEAR 2017/18 up in the future.