According to the authority, the time has been extended for the PPA as the company could not bring the permit within 90 days of the issuance of the letter of intent
Nepal Electricity Authority has extended two months time to proceed with the process of Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPA) by obtaining survey permit (license) for solar energy promoters.
Earlier, the 63 companies selected by the authority had to submit a bond of Rs. 6 lakh from Utsigaga within 90 days of the issuance of the letter of intent, i.e. February 15, and proceed with the process of power purchase and sale agreement (PPA). Kulman Ghising, executive director of the authority, said that because no promoter could get a license during that period, the time was extended by 2 months. "No promoter came with the license till the specified period," he said, "so 2 months have been added." Within that period, the selected solar promoter will be able to proceed with the process by taking the license and paying the bond.
The electricity development department had to bring a recommendation letter from the irrigation department and the province that the proposed solar power project does not fall within the irrigable land to issue the survey license. The Irrigation Department did not issue a recommendation letter as there was a conflict between the Grid Connected Alternative Electricity Development Procedure, 2078 and the Irrigation Master Plan (updated 2024).
The Electricity Development Department has amended the grid-connected procedure on January 28 and has provided that recommendations can only be brought from the ward or municipality to get a survey license. A promoter said that some companies have already taken the survey after the arrangement of the department. Although most of them have yet to get their license, the authority has extended the time, says the promoter.
The authority invited proposals for 800 MW of solar power last March. In the proposal, 3600 megawatts worth of 134 companies were proposed. Out of the proposals received, only 3492.5 MW of 127 companies were eligible for financial proposals through technical evaluation. According to the authority, only 960 megawatts of 63 companies were selected from the financial proposals opened last October.
was chosen for the PPA based on the lowest price on the financial proposal and capacity of the substation. According to the authority, there is a provision that more than 20 percent can be selected only by asking for proposals. Accordingly, 63 companies with a capacity of 960 MW were selected for PPA.
According to the tender called for PPA for 25 years by the authority, there is a condition that projects smaller than 10 megawatts should provide electricity within 18 months and projects larger than that within two years. The Authority had called for a proposal to balance the increasing electricity demand and electricity supply in Terai's load centers.
The project has been selected for PPA of solar projects to be built near 200, 132 and 33 KV substations owned by the authority. Since it takes a long time to build a hydroelectric project, but the solar project can be operational within a year and a half, solar energy connected to the grid has been given priority to meet the increasing demand for electricity in winter.
The 963rd meeting of the Authority had set a maximum base rate of Rs 5.94 paise per unit for the procurement of solar power through competition.
