Gen-next power sector reforms

The private sector and the NEA must team up to develop it through trading with India.

Goddess Lakshmi didn’t just smile on Nepal’s electricity fortunes this Tihar. The Hindu goddess of wealth rained down blessings like never before. On the day of Lakshmi Puja, October 24, the state-owned utility Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) exported 9,603,000 kilowatt hours of electricity to India, 406,000 kilowatt hours of it during peak hours, earning approximately Rs30 million in the process. The NEA began trading electricity through India’s power exchange in June after obtaining approval from the Indian government. During the three-month period from mid-July to mid-October, the NEA earned approximately Rs3.7 billion in net exports. To get a scale of these earnings, picture this: The export revenues are enough to give each of its household customers a gift of Rs1,022.