Tackling Years of Hydropower Gridlock

The government has finally decided to deal with a problem the previous governments had ignored for too long. By forming a high-level committee to review and streamline the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) process, it has signaled that it understands how badly things have stalled. For years, private developers have waited and files gathering dust while projects that could power the country sat frozen in paperwork. Delays, vague procedures, and shifting rules have not just frustrated investors, they have held back the entire energy sector. This new panel, led by Joint Secretary Rajan Bhattarai at the Ministry of Energy, will examine how PPAs are handled by the Nepal Electricity Authority. The committee has been asked to find where the system has broken down- whether in policy, law, financing, or basic administration. The panel is expected to suggest fixes that actually work. It is a simple mandate on paper. In practice, it cuts into years of indecision and institutional hesitation. The urgency is indeed high as projects worth around 13,000 megawatts are stuck in limbo, even though developers have already applied for PPAs. That is not a small delay but a backlog that has so far reflected deeper disagreements, especially over the “take or pay” and “take and pay” models.