USAID Urja Nepal organises workshop on pricing and financing transmission lines in Nepal

KATHMANDU: USAID Urja Nepal organised a workshop on pricing and financing transmission lines in Nepal on Wednesday. 

The main objective of the workshop was to equip Nepali journalists with a better understanding of the financing process, alternative financing mechanisms and the process — as well as pros and cons — of securing and mobilising such funds. 

During the workshop, Kul Man Ghising, Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, spoke about the volume of investment required to fund the construction of transmission lines in the country. He mentioned that Nepal will need over Rs 500 billion for the construction of transmission lines and substations in the next decade. He stressed that until investors are guaranteed returns on their investments it will be very difficult to attract investment for the construction of transmission lines. 

Ghising shared that previously the focus was mainly on the generation aspect, which means the construction of hydropower plants. “However, construction of transmission lines and substations is equally important as the energy generated by the power developers needs to be transmitted,” he added. He informed that there have been investment commitments for the construction of transmission lines and substations and a few investments have already been made. 

Meanwhile, Rajeev Sharma of USAID Urja Nepal gave a presentation on why the construction of transmission lines is important. He mentioned that stable electricity transmission is only possible if the country has a proper transmission network. 

Satish N Joshi of USAID Urja Nepal also gave a presentation on the different modalities of investment that could be utilised to develop transmission lines and substations in Nepal. While giving his presentation, Joshi also explained the advantages and disadvantages of the various modalities of investment. He also presented an example of how the Indian state of Karnataka has been distributing electricity through different power distributors and the charges that are levied on these distributors for utilising the transmission lines.