Kathmandu. Independent Power Producers Association, Nepal (IPPAN) has demanded that the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) should easily extend the RCOD if the construction of hydropower projects cannot be completed on time due to delays in granting permits from any government or external body.
Congratulating and wishing the newly appointed Executive Director of the NEA, Hitendra Dev Shakya, on Monday, IPPAN President Ganesh Karki said that if hydropower projects are unable to generate electricity on time due to not receiving permission from the Ministry of Forests for felling trees and not receiving permission to import explosives from India, then the date for commercial electricity generation (RCOD) should be easily extended. He opined that the NEA should mention in the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that RCOD can be easily added in cases where the project construction is delayed due to other procedural delays including permission from government agencies.
Karki also drew Shakya’s attention to the fact that the NEA has not added RCOD, and has stopped further loan flow from banks and financial institutions and has started instructing to pay interest on projects that have not been lit, assuming that electricity was generated from that date. Karki also said that the government should move forward by opening the PPA immediately to achieve the target of 28,500 MW.
IPPAN Senior Vice President Mohan Kumar Dangi said that the private sector is ready to join hands to achieve the target of 28,500 MW of electricity generation set by the government. Former IPPAN President Shailendra Guragain said that the RCOD should be increased not only due to the delay in tree felling approval from the Ministry of Forests but also due to the lack of explosives and the financial management of large projects.
IPPAN Vice President Uttam Blon stressed that the Electricity Authority should abolish the contingency system. He also informed that since the Electricity Authority has not been able to build the transmission line, private projects are building the transmission line themselves in the Dordi Corridor.
IPPAN Deputy Secretary General Prakash Dulal said that private sector projects are facing a major problem of RCOD and that the situation is beyond the control of the forest department and India is not providing explosives. Therefore, the RCOD of such projects should be increased.
Shakya, the newly appointed Executive Director of the Electricity Authority, said that efforts will be made to ensure that even if electricity is generated later than the RCOD for six months of the rainy season, there will be no penalty. Shakya said that the Nepal government should decide on the extension of the deadline for all projects by 2 years, but he is positive about extending the RCOD deadline by looking at the specific problems of the project (delay in forest approval, lack of explosives, etc.).
Shakya said that now the private sector should also focus on building semi-reservoir projects with peaking capacity of 2-4 hours rather than river-flow projects. He also said that the PPA rate for peak hours can also be discussed for revision.
When IPAN demanded that the hydrology penalty be abolished due to climate change, Shakya said that the penalty system can be re-evaluated so that grid discipline is followed. IPPAN President Ganesh Karki, former President Shailendra Guragain, Senior Vice President Mohan Kumar Dangi, Vice President Uttam Bhlon, Deputy Secretary General Prakash Dulal, Secretary Him Prasad Pathak, Working Committee members Uttar Kumar Shrestha, Shankar Bashyal, Mithun Poudel, Suman Joshi, among others, were present to congratulate Shakya.
