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ARTICLE · 26 AUGUST 2026

Hydropower Project Registration In Nepal: Notes For Developers And Lenders (2026)

Nepal’s hydropower sector still runs on a licensing regime built around the Electricity Act, 2049 (1992) and the Companies Act, 2063 (2006), with a cluster of sector-specific policies layered on top over three decades. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI) retains policy oversight and licensing authority. The Department of Electricity Development (DoED) issues survey and generation licences for certain threshold.

NepalEnergy and Natural Resources
Niti Partners And Associates
Niti Partners And Associates
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Nepal’s hydropower sector still runs on a licensing regime built around the Electricity Act, 2049 (1992) and the Companies Act, 2063 (2006), with a cluster of sector-specific policies layered on top over three decades. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI) retains policy oversight and licensing authority. The Department of Electricity Development (DoED) issues survey and generation licences for certain threshold. The Ministry of Forests and Environment approves the IEE or EIA. The Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC), established under the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, 2017, now sets tariff and technical standards. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) remains, in practice, the only entity a project company will ever sell power to.

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