A delegation of IPPAN and SHDAN met Minister for Energy Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat on Monday and put forward demands to accelerate hydropower development in Nepal in the context of the ongoing 12 hours a day load-shedding crisis facing the country. [break]
IPPAN President Dr Sandip Shah submitted a memorandum on behalf of IPPAN and SHDAN to the minister.
The demands include enactment of the proposed Electricity Act-2064 and Nepal Electricity Regulatory Commission Act-2064, VAT exemption of one percent on construction materials and custom duties, revision of the present Power Purchase Agreement rates and introduction flat tariff of Rs 5.99 per unit.
They also demanded escalation rate of five percent for up to nine consecutive years, 100 percent tax holiday for ten years, 2.5 percent subsidy on bank interest to shield investors from high interest rates, construction of transmission lines on build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) system, or build and transfer system (BT), among others.
On the occasion Dr Shah said, "These changes are needed to immediately start more than 30 small hydropower projects with a total capacity of 400 MW plus."
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