The Hildum small hydropower project has provided electricity to 2,300 houses in Kharpunath rural municipality, including the Humla headquarters, Simkot. But the electricity supply is cut off during snowfall and rainy season. Every month, when the turbine machine breaks down and the canal collapses, the people of Humla are forced to live in darkness.

‘It’s just a matter of electricity, the supply is cut off when there is normal wind and rain,’ said Pitambar Rokaya of Simkot-7, ‘If there is no electricity, phone and internet services are disrupted, sometimes we are cut off from communication for a week.’ According to Pemba Lama of Simkot, when the electricity goes out, local traders charge up to Rs 100 per hour for charging mobile phones through generators. 

According to the Nepal Rastra Bank’s Demographic, Social, Economic and Financial Situation Report-2081, although the total electricity generation capacity in Karnali Province is 18,000 megawatts, only 10 megawatts are currently being generated. Due to the lack of electricity generation in their own province, the people of Karnali have been forced to face the problem of irregular load shedding and low voltage for a long time. According to a report by the National Bank, currently in Karnali, Padam Khola in Dailekh is generating 4.8 and Dwarikhola 3.75 megawatts of electricity, while all the others are only micro and small hydropower projects.

Purna Bahadur Nepali, Assistant Director of the National Bank Karnali Province, said that according to the feasibility study conducted on the Karnali, Tila and Bheri rivers, about 18,000 megawatts of electricity can be generated. According to him, 8.55 megawatts of electricity are being generated from Dailekh, while all other districts have projects of less than one megawatt. Currently, 0.50 megawatts of electricity are being generated from Humla, 0.40 from Mugu and Kalikot, 0.20 from Jumla and 0.35 megawatts from Rukum West. 

According to the data of the Nepal Electricity Authority Provincial Office, 19 projects worth 4,541 MW have applied for survey, 4 projects worth 26 MW for production licenses, and 7 projects worth 1,091 MW for survey licenses. After most of the large power projects being built in Karnali have been shelved, the authority's provincial chief Shashibhushan Shah said that the authority has had to rely on electricity from outside projects. 

According to him, out of 309,376 households in Karnali, only 135,000 families have electricity facilities from the central transmission line. About 30,000 families are consuming electricity through small hydropower projects. The remaining 144,000 families use alternative energy sources such as solar energy, Tuki, Diyalo, etc.

Work on the 106 MW Jagadulla Semi-Reservoir Hydropower Project to be constructed by Jagadulla Hydropower Limited in Dolpa has not yet begun even after 6 months of the contract agreement. An agreement was signed between Jagdulla Hydropower Company Limited, China's Jiangxi Construction Engineering (Group) Corporation Limited and ANK Construction Nepal JV for the construction of the project in July. The agreement was signed for the construction of the project by 30 Ashar 2086 at a cost of Rs 13.73 billion, said the company's CEO Sanjay Sapkota. 

According to him, the detailed study report (DPR) and environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project have been approved, and about 260 ropanis of land have been acquired. However, the work is being delayed due to the lack of design approval for the project.

The project, which is estimated to cost a total of Rs 23 billion, has been financed by Nabil Bank with a loan of Rs 4.4 billion, Employees Provident Fund with Rs 4 billion, Hydro Electricity Investment and Development Company Limited (HIDCL) with a loan of Rs 4 billion, Laxmi Sunrise Bank with a loan of Rs 2 billion and Everest Bank with a loan of Rs 1.5 billion, informed CEO Sapkota. 

The Indian company GMR, which has taken over the 900 MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project, has not yet been able to raise investment, while the DPR work on the 410 MW Nalgadh reservoir project in Jajarkot has not even been completed. The work on the 688 MW Payant Karnali Project has also been slow for a long time. Energy expert Kamal Sharma said that diverting the Bheri River and discharging its water into the Babai River and taking it to Lumbini Province would have a major impact. 

According to the Provincial Planning Commission, 67 percent of the citizens in Karnali still rely on Tuki and solar energy. Only 33.39 percent (561,000) citizens in Karnali have direct access to electricity. According to the commission, the remaining 1.3 million citizens rely on Tuki, alternative energy and diyas. "As long as all households do not have access to electricity, all infrastructure development in Karnali will remain incomplete," said Ashoknath Yogi, a member of the commission. "Even if 3/4 large power projects that are being built are completed, Karnali can become self-sufficient by selling electricity."

The work on the 417-megawatt Nalgad Hydropower Project in Karnali has been stalled for a long time. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the hydropower project, including plans to build an underground house in Dalli in Nalgad Municipality of Jajarkot and a dam in Andherikhola in Barekot Rural Municipality, was prepared two years ago. However, the project has been stalled due to failure to raise investment, said Padam Thapa, the project's engineer. He informed that it will cost 123 billion rupees to complete the project. 

‘It is not possible to build the project with domestic investment alone,’ said Thapa, ‘foreign investment has not been raised.’ The project has already compensated about 800 families, while there is a dispute over whether to deduct compensation for 555 houses. In 2073, Australian companies Smack, MWH and Nepal’s Udaya JV were awarded the contract to prepare the DPR within two years and seven months. But Nalgad Municipality Mayor Dambar Bahadur Rawat said that it took 7 years to prepare the DPR. ‘There was also a delay in the DPR,’ he said, ‘now it is not certain when the project will be built.’ The EIA work of the project has been completed.

Another project that has been stalled for a long time is Upper Karnali. The project has been stalled for a long time because the Indian company Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (GMR) was unable to manage the finances. The Investment Board has stated that despite a directive order in the Supreme Court regarding the change in share structure approved by the Investment Board last November, the financial management process could not be taken forward due to the lack of a full text.

GMR had submitted documents for financial management in the 900-megawatt capacity hydropower project, with 34 percent shares held by GMR, 34 percent by Indian government company Sutlej Hydropower Development Corporation (SJVN), 5 percent by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), and 27 percent by Nepal Electricity Authority. The 60th meeting of the board had approved the share structure submitted by GMR. Earlier, GMR had 73 percent share and Nepal Electricity Authority had 27 percent share. But now GMR has given shares to IREDA and SJVN to raise investment. Board Chief Executive Officer Sushil Gyawali said that the board will take a decision after the full text is received.

The work of the 439-megawatt capacity Betan Karnali Hydropower Project, which is being built under the leadership of the Employees Provident Fund, is also still uncertain. The company's managing director Krishna Prasad Acharya said that the power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project has reached the final stage. After the PPA, financial management will move forward and discussions are underway with banks and financial institutions for this, he informed. Betan Karnali, which applied to the Department of Electricity Development on 10 Falgun 2078, received the license only on 15 Ashad 2082. The Investment Board meeting held last November approved an investment of Rs 93.4 billion 7 million for the project.

Similarly, the work of the 480-megawatt Phukot Karnali Hydropower Project, which is to be constructed on the section of the Karnali River flowing through Pachaljharana Rural Municipality, Raskot Municipality, Sannitriveni Rural Municipality and Khandachakra Municipality in Kalikot, is also being delayed. A joint venture between Nepal Electricity Generating Company Limited and India's government company NHPC has signed an agreement for the construction of the project. 

According to the draft MOU, preparations are underway to build the Phukot Karnali project with 51 percent investment from NHPC and 40 percent from VUCL. However, the project construction is in limbo due to a court case after the agreement between both parties.