Preparing to bring in private investment in the energy sector, LOI will be given to the private sector

Kathmandu.Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Viraj Bhakta Shrestha has said that the necessary policy arrangements to allow the private sector to enter the electricity business have reached the final stage. He informed that preparations are being made to give the Letter of Intent (LOI) to the private sector.

While reviewing the work progress of the last 6 months held at the Ministry on Wednesday, Minister Shrestha said that with the aim of making the energy sector the basis of the country's economic development, electricity generation, transmission, market expansion and domestic consumption growth have been progressed in an integrated manner. He said that despite the damage to the energy infrastructure due to natural disasters, the work of service restoration and development has been continued.

He said that scientific and objective standards have been prepared to advance the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) process according to national needs and system demands. He informed that in the proposed criteria, production capacity that can meet the high demand in the evening of dry season, contribution of energy in dry season, stability of monthly production, availability of transmission infrastructure and the condition of ensuring electricity output until the date of commercial production of the project will be given priority.

According to Minister Shrestha, in the last 6 months, efforts have been made to advance the stalled investment in the energy sector, prepare the basis for the entry of the private sector in the electricity business, expand the transmission infrastructure and speed up the implementation of irrigation projects.

He said that during this period, the Commercial Production Commencement Date (RCOD) has been added for 27 hydropower projects in the final stage of construction with a total capacity of 540.47 MW.

He also informed that there has been an agreement to increase the power transmission capacity between Nepal and India from 1,000 MW to 1,400 MW for import and from 1,000 MW to 1,650 MW for export. He said that the work of strengthening the basis of electricity trade through the expansion of cross-border transmission infrastructure and open access and transparent transmission fee determination has been carried out.

He said that the construction work of Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa 400 KV transmission line, which has been blocked for a long time, has reached its final stage in Hetauda area. He informed that the construction of Bahrbise-Lapsiphedi 400 KV transmission line has been completed, while construction of Bahrbise and new Khimti substations has been completed and partially put into operation.

Similarly, Markichoke-Bharatpur 220 kV transmission line and Dhalkebar-Balganga 132 kV transmission line have been put into operation under Masryangdi Corridor. Lalbandi-Salempur 132 KV transmission line and related substations have also come into operation. An emergency restoration system has been installed in the damaged section of the Kohalpur-Surkhet transmission line.

Similarly, construction of Balkot and Dahchok substations and Chandrapur-Sukhdevchok and Lahan-Sukhipur transmission lines have been started, he said. He informed that the work has been progressed with the goal of completing the construction of 12 more transmission lines within the current financial year. The process of extending the distribution line for rural electrification in Madhes and complete electrification in Karnali has also been started.

Minister Shrestha said that an action plan has been formulated with the goal of completing the project of national pride within a certain time frame. He informed that additional 13 kilometers of canals have been constructed in Sikta irrigation project and irrigation facilities have been extended to 1,300 hectares of land. Out of 27 bids for the project, 11 contracts have been signed and construction has started.

He presented the details that irrigation facility has been extended to 1 thousand 155 hectares in Mahakali irrigation project, 610 hectares in Badkapath, 600 hectares in Babai and 150 hectares in Rani Jamra Kularia.

He said that the work has been progressed with the goal of completing the Babai Irrigation and Bheri-Babai Diversion multi-purpose project within the next two financial years. An integrated work schedule has been prepared by coordinating between the main contractors of the Bheri-Babai project.

He informed that the technical evaluation has been completed after re-inviting bids for the civil construction of the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Project. He said that the contract agreement for the project, which is in the stage of financial proposal evaluation, is expected to be concluded soon.

He said that in order to improve the management of the irrigation system, real-time water flow monitoring has been started in Rani Jamra Kularia and Rajapur through telemetry technology. It is mentioned in the details that regular irrigation services have been provided to about 233 thousand hectares of arable land through the irrigation system operated under joint management.

He said that the bill on renewable energy and energy efficiency has been registered in the House of Representatives for the institutional and legal reform of the energy sector, while the bill on water resources has been submitted to the Council of Ministers. Drafting of Electricity and Irrigation Bills has also been started and the process of taking opinions from the stakeholders has been started.

According to him, Electricity Consumer Tariff Determination Guideline, 2083 and National Electricity Transmission Grid Transmission Fee Calculation Standard, 2083 have been issued. Guidelines on open access to electricity transmission and distribution system have been prepared. Preparations for amending the Electricity Regulations, 2050 to maintain the permit period of 50 years for reservoir-based hydropower projects have also been advanced.

He informed that 693 kilowatts of electricity was produced from micro and small hydropower and 841 kilowatts from solar mini-grid to expand access to electricity in rural areas. Rooftop solar systems with a capacity of 18,575.30 kilowatts have been installed in various institutions, while 315 solar irrigation pumps have been installed in the agricultural sector to increase energy use.

Minister Shrestha said that despite the damage to the energy infrastructure due to floods and other natural disasters, priority has been given to restoring services and providing relief to the citizens of the affected areas. He mentioned that despite the severe impact on the national transmission system due to the flood, the power supply across the country was not affected by the efforts of the authority's staff and technicians.

He informed that relief distribution has been started to the dependent families of the authority's employees who have lost contact after the floods in Rasuwa and Nuwakot on August 10. So far 6 families have received relief. He said that according to the decision of the board of directors of the authority, Rs 5 lakh will be provided to each family immediately and half of the starting salary of the respective employee for 6 months.

He informed that the flood forecast period in the major rivers has been increased from three days to five days to reduce the climatic risk. The flash flood forecast period in Sana River has been increased from 24 hours to 48 hours. He also said that the impact-based weather forecasting service has been implemented at 15 local levels and is being tested at 16 more local levels.