The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has decided to initiate Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) for 5,000 MW of hydropower initiatives after a hiatus of more than five years. This decision was made during a board gathering on Tuesday night, shortly following the appointment of Hitendra Dev Shakya as the new Managing Director of NEA. This action responds to long-standing appeals from private hydropower developers, who had been calling on the government to revive halted PPAs.
The shift in leadership comes on the heels of a drawn-out conflict between the former NEA Chief Kulman Ghising and Energy Minister Deepak Khadka, which had hindered board meetings for over two months. Ghising had focused on storage-based and pumped storage hydropower projects, citing concerns over cost efficiency and reliability due to climate change. However, after Ghising’s ousting in Monday’s Cabinet meeting, Minister Khadka, backed by Shakya, has reinstated PPAs for run-of-river (RoR) projects.
Furthermore, the NEA board has resolved to release a whitepaper on NEA’s financial condition, suspecting possible financial discrepancies under Ghising’s management. The board has also revised the NEA Employee Service Bylaws, shifting the power to relocate employees from the NEA Chief to the board, igniting opposition from two employee unions, which have cautioned about potential protests.
