Power producers won't be let down: Finance Minister Paudel

KATHMANDU, JULY 29: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Bishnu Paudel, has said the government will work in a way that encourages power producers. During a meeting with the office bearers of the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal, at his office yesterday, DPM Paudel stated that energy producers should be encouraged as the country still lacks sufficient electricity.

He reminded the delegation that Nepal is both importing and exporting electricity, urging them to increase electricity consumption. He vowed that his efforts would not disappoint power producers from the private sector.

On the occasion, IPPAN Chairman Ganesh Karki informed that the private sector had played a significant role in electricity production. In the past two and a half decades alone, the private sector has completed 182 hydropower projects with a capacity of 2,500 MW. Additionally, 137 hydropower projects are under construction, which will produce 3,900 MW of power.

Karki complained that while the private sector was aggressively working on hydropower production, the financial and monetary policies were discouraging.