Upper Solu signs Rs 3 billion loan deal with consortium

KATHMANDU, SEP 29 - A consortium of eight commercial banks and Hydroelectric Investment and Development Company Ltd (HIDCL) has pledged loans amounting to Rs 3.07 billion to develop the 23.5 MW Solu Hydroelectric Project.

Cabinet endorses PTA, PDA

A Cabinet meeting on Thursday endorsed the power trade agreement (PTA) that Nepal and India recently initialed, and the amended project development agreement for the 900 megawatt Upper Karnali Hydropower Project.

Project financing in Nepal

The Nepalese economy has seen surplus liquidity in the recent years.  Banks and financial institutions (BFIs) are currently sitting on a big pile of cash due to a heavy increase in deposit mobilization without much expansion in loan advancement. According to the first nine-month data released in the Economic Survey 13/14, deposit collected by BFIs stood at NPR 1,398.9 billion while the lending was NPR 1,095.4 billion. The large amount of loanable money is idle.

Indian Energy Exchange gears up for cross border power trade

In a move that would boost cross border exchange of electricity, country’s largest power bourse IEX expects to have participants from neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal trading on its platform in the “next few months”.

Power Trade Agreement Between India & Nepal

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF NEPAL AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA ON ELECTRIC POWER TRADE, CROSS-BORDER TRANSMISSION INTERCONNECTION AND GRID CONNECTIVITY

Nepal, India ink PTA

KATHMANDU, Sept 4:Nepal and India on Thursday signed a 25-year agreement on power trading, cross-border transmission line and grid connectivity. 

Army to invest in hydro if legal hurdles removed

The Nepal Army (NA) said that it would be willing to invest money from its welfare fund in the hydropower sector if legal barriers were removed.

Power tariff likely to go up before Dashain

KATHMANDU, AUG 30 - Power charges could go up before the Dashain festival in October as the Electricity Tariff Fixation Committee (ETFC) is likely to okay the Nepal Electricity Authority’s (NEA) proposal to hike the tariff.

A quick guide for hydropower investors in Nepal

The next big thing in Nepali capital market and overall economy is hydropower. The new entrants in Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) are mostly hydropower companies. There will be at least 16 hydropower companies within two years. Currently, there are 6 listed hydropower companies in NEPSE.

Upper Tamakoshi IPO

Below is an interesting article published by ShareSansar regarding the prior allotment of the shares. I will write the details about Upper tamkoshi project, its financials & technical part, future plans and early verdict of share price in the days to come. But for now, go through the following article.

Panel for signing PDA with GMR

A technical committee formed to review the document of the Power Development Agreement (PDA) between the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and India’s GMR-ITD Consortium to develop the 900MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project has recommended signing the agreement with a few revisions in the document.

US hopes Nepal-India PTA & PDA will be signed soon

The ambassador of the United States of America H.E. Peter Bodde called on Prime Minister Sushil Koirala at the latter's residence in Baluatar, Kathmandu, August 22, 2014.

HIDCL launches long-term wholesale loan for banks

The Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Limited (HIDCL) has introduced long-term wholesale loan and refinancing for commercial banks looking for investment in hydropower projects.

Indian envoy meets Nepal, seeks support for inking PTA and PDA

Reports have it that with the possibility of signing PTA (Power Trade Agreement) and Upper Karnali PDA (Project Development Agreement) with India in the near future getting distanced as hoped by Indian PM Narendra Modi in his freshly concluded Nepal trip, the Indian Ambassador Ranjit Ray has sought help from the UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal to get the job done. Very difficult!

Unbundling of NEA is necessary

The project cost of 30 MW Chameliya Hydropower Project is increased to NPR 15.06 billion. The construction of this project was started in mid-January 2008. It was originally scheduled to be completed by mid-June 2011. But the completion date was pushed back by two years until mid-September, 2013 after delays in construction.

Sunkoshi Landslide: Aftermath and Opportunity

On August 2, a massive landslide hit Mankha VDC of Sindhupalchok district. This landslide which occurred on Sunkoshi river wiped out the entire village and took so many lives. It blocked the river and created a dam with the formation of a large lake. The landslide is considered to be one of the most disastrous natural calamities to hit the country in more than a decade.

As they please – Energy pricing

Nepal Electricity Authority procures black file-cases that cost peanuts at market price. But purchase of billions of rupees worth of electricity from developers is decided without any market price assessment. Moreover, vital information on Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) is never made public. This underhand practice has been taking place for the last 30 years. 

ADB ready to facilitate Nepal-India power trading

Asian Development Bank (ADB) today said it is ready to help Nepal in developing its hydropower generation capacity and also offered to play the role of a facilitator in power trading, especially with India.

IPO of Barun Hydropower Company Limited

Barun Hydropower Company Limited is the next hydropower company that is going to be listed in Nepal Stock Exchange. The company has already floated 10% of the issued capital to project affected area, a mandatory requirement of Nepal government. It was oversubscribed by two times. Now, 20 percent of the total issued capital will be offered to general public, i.e. IPO. Civil Capital Market Ltd. is the issue manager. Here is my sincere opinions regarding the company, project and speculated share price when listed in Nepal Stock Exchange.

Developments after Modi’s visit to Nepal

Hydropower was one of the main agendas of Modi’s visit to Nepal. A week has gone by since Modi’s visited Nepal. So what are the progresses so far? Below is the synopsis.

Nepal has no intention to sign umbrella agreement sent by India.