The Nepal Electricity Authority has officially extended the Required Commercial Operation Date for 27 hydropower projects with a total capacity of 540.47 megawatts.
Following the initiative taken by the Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Dipak Khadka, the authority reviewed the actual progress of projects that signed Power Purchase Agreements but could not finish on time. This extension aims to help developers who had genuine problems and had made some physical progress on their sites.
Criteria for the Extension
The authority based this decision on how much physical work was done at the sites and whether the developers met their requirements under the agreement. Earlier, the authority grouped 218 projects into four categories named A, B, C, and D. Only projects in the A and B groups that provided all necessary documents and proof were considered for the extension.
During a board meeting held on Asar 32, the authority decided to categorize these projects based on clear rules. Group A includes projects that met all basic requirements. Group B covers those that faced delays because of the authority’s own work on transmission lines, projects that hit unexpected problems beyond their control, or those that completed at least 25 percent of their physical work.
Government Support for Hydropower
Minister Khadka shared that the government’s policy is to help projects that are really moving ahead instead of putting private developers into trouble. He mentioned that the decision was not based on anyone’s personal choice but rather on a clear system. He also said that the government is very careful about protecting private investments but the developers should also fulfill their duties in time. Only when both sides take responsibility will the energy sector grow faster.
Current Status of Projects
According to the authority, there are currently 320 hydropower projects in different stages of building with a total capacity of 8,292 megawatts. Out of these, 150 projects with 4,491 megawatts are in the A group, and 68 projects with 1,420 megawatts are in the B group.
Meanwhile, group C includes projects that do not have necessary production licenses or financial plans, and those that have done less than 25 percent physical progress. Group D contains projects that failed to do their required duties or had their survey and production licenses cancelled.
The authority will keep monitoring the projects in group B. The power trading department will provide instructions to finish the work on time and keep watching their progress. If needed, the authority has made a rule to re-classify the projects within six months. This new rule help distinguish between real projects and those who failed to make progress for a long time.
AI Disclaimer: This article was originally published on https://bajarkochirfar.com. It has been translated with the help of AI. For the best understanding and accurate facts, we recommend reading the original Nepali version.
