Finance Ministry Okays Electricity Regulatory Commission Regulation

The Finance Ministry approved the Electricity Regulatory Commission Regulation drafted by the Energy Ministry on Jan 31, 2018.

With the endorsement of the regulation, the Nepal Electricity Regulatory Commision (NERC) can be formed to set standards to regulate organizations involved in power generation, transmission, distribution, and trade. After the endorsement, the Energy Ministry will go about the process of establishing the NERC’s secretariat and hiring the chairman and other members.

Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, the spokesperson for the Energy Ministry informed that the Finance Ministry on Monday approved the draft of the regulation and they will send it to the Law Ministry for its examination and approval before presenting it to the Cabinet for its final approval.

Ghimire informed that the Energy Ministry is planning to submit the draft regulation to the Cabinet within eight to ten days.

The commission is designated to have full authority in setting the power purchase rate for the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). Replacing the current Electricity Tariff Fixation Commission, the NERC will set the charges that customers will have to pay to NEA. The electricity tariff will be fixed after holding a public hearing.

Apart from the above, the commission will also set policies that specify standards for the construction of hydro-power plants, transmission lines, and distribution networks. Furthermore, it will be responsible to determine the voltage that will be supplied to customers by NEA.