Kathmandu, March 17

The government has said that it will not be able to meet its target to generate 3,000 megawatts of electricity within three years. According to data released by the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI), it will be unable to meet the target in the stipulated time. In fact, report states that the target will not be achieved in four years too.

The ministry had released a white paper mentioning that it would generate the aforementioned quantum of electricity on May 8 last year.

As per data, the government and independent power producers collectively will be able to generate only 2,400 megawatts of power in four years.

Releasing the annual progress report today, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barsha Man Pun, mentioned that the country will be able to connect only 2,400 MW of electricity to the national grid in four years.

The ministry, on May 8, had unveiled a plan and had set a target to generate 3,000 megawatts of electricity within three years and connect it to the national grid. Likewise, the MoEWRI had also stated that it would generate 5,000 MW of energy within five years and 15,000 MW of electricity within 10 years.

The government had then also announced that it had marked the years 2018 to 2028 as the ‘Decade of Energy and Hydropower’ to realise the dream of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’.

As per the annual review, the ministry has said that it will be able to generate 1,269 megawatts of electricity until fiscal year 2019-20. The MoEWRI has said that the much-awaited 456-megawatt Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project will start commissioning power by next fiscal year.

At present, the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and independent power producers have generated only 1,015 MW of electricity.

As per NEA, only 39 MW of electricity will be added to the national grid within April 13.

However, it has plans to connect 287 MW of electricity in the current fiscal year.

“We have put in continuous efforts to complete projects so that they will be able to generate electricity within the stipulated time, but we have been facing some difficulties in the construction of transmission lines,” Minister Pun said, adding the government will do its best to overcome the problems.

Meanwhile, the independent power producers have accused the government of only being involved in setting targets but not seriously working towards fulfilling those plans.