The protracted progress of West Seti Hydroelectric Project in absence of financial arrangement is again taking a move ahead.

One of the senior project officials informed to start 10 km long access road, connecting project’s site and Seti Highway, to encourage the investors. “To trim down the project’s uncertainty existing among locals, government and investors, we are constructing access road with investment from SMEC,” the official told the Rajdhani.

According to an official at the Ministry of Energy, the promoter, which failed to kick-start the construction works even after a decade of acquiring the project’s license, is going to construct access road in the project’s site when the government started looking for a new investor.

The Energy Minister, Prakash Sharan Mahat informed that the project could not go ahead since the company failed to make financial closing. “The government is not going to delay the project if the construction company approaches us with an official letter regarding financial closure,” he said.

The Minister Mahat admitted the continuity of the same company in the project, although he hinted some preliminary discussions regarding the new investor. “We are analysing some clauses for amendment in the agreement with the existing company,” he said. 

Mahat also informed that the agreement was forwarded to officials at Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Law for giving a second look at some clauses.

Nepal bears a great loss since the construction company failed to make financial arrangement, said Mahat, “The government is committed to begin West Seti soon.”

The project with 750 MW installed capacity exports 90 percent of electricity to India while remaining 10 percent will be granted to Nepal free of cost.

As per the past agreement, 1.6 billion US dollars project engrosses share investment from Australian Construction Company SMEC (26 %), Government of Nepal (15%), Asian Development Bank (15%), China Machinery Imports and Exports Corporation CMEC (15%), Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services –IL&FS (15%) and the Nepalese financial institutions (14 %) including four percent from the far western local people. The project will have 25 percent equity share and 75 percent as loan investment.

“Investments from others will flow as soon as ADB gets ready,” said the source accusing ADB for its negligence for delayed investment.

Unofficial translation from Rajdhani daily Kathmandu, Nov 17, 2009

KATHMANDU: It takes 73 days to fulfil six procedures to get an electricity connection in Nepal, according to a World Bank pilot project. The same can be done in 22 days and four procedures in Iceland but takes 424 days in Afghanistan.

Getting Electricity — the two-and-a-half-year project — presents findings on the constraints entrepreneurs around the world face in getting access to electricity and illustrates patterns in connection processes. The study also tracks all the procedures, the time, and the cost required to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building.

However, in Nepal the cost of not having electricity is higher than the cost of connection, as the country reels under long hours of power outage. World Bank surveys in 89 economies of the world show that electricity tops infrastructure needs of the business entities.

Many businesses lack access to power connections and are prevented from moving into higher-value-added activities that rely on electricity-based technologies. According to International Energy Agency, in 2005 more than a quarter of the world’s population lacked access to electricity. Businesses also care about the cost of both the electricity connection and the electricity supply-because electricity-related expenditure eats up a significant share of their revenue.

Managers responding to World Bank Enterprise Surveys estimated that on average their spending on electricity amounts to four per cent of their annual sales, while combined spending on other infrastructure services like fuel, communication services and water accounts for 6.4 per cent.

Among the 140 economies surveyed for Getting Electricity, Ukraine ranks at the bottom, with 10 procedures required to get new power connection. It’s much easier to do the same in Denmark, Germany, Japan and Mauritius.

The survey details the efficiency and cost of the services provided to commercial customers by distribution utilities, the complexity of procedures, and the resources expended by businesses in obtaining a connection.

“In the 10 economies with fewest procedures, the process of obtaining an electricity connection takes only 56 days on an average, while in 10 economies with most procedures, it takes 215 days,” the report adds.

The Himalayan Times

BIRGUNJ: Minister for Energy Prakash Sharan Mahat said today that the country would face power-cuts for at least three more years.

Speaking at a press conference organised by Nepal Press Union Parsa, he said, “The dark hours will stay here as high capacity transmission line for electricity from India to Nepal won’t be in place before three years.”

According to him, the public was reeling under regular power-cuts as the internal production was not sufficient to meet the energy demands. The minister, however, informed that plans were afoot to repair the thermal plants in Hetauda and Biratnagar. “That could be some sort of a breather for the country,” he said.

He also made revelations that the government had a policy to encourage investors in hydro projects. “The government has prioritised the Upper-Seti Hydro Electricity Project in Tanahun while preparations were on for the construction of Upper-Tamakoshi as well,” he said. The minister also informed that more than a billion rupees has been allocated for rural electrification in this fiscal budget.

He, however, said that the budget deficit of the Nepal Electricity Authority had reached Rs 14 billion. Saying that the electricity in the country was being sold at a price lower than the production cost, Mahat hinted at a possible hike in the electricity tariff.

The Himalayan Times

Pashupatinagar, Oct 22 :Electricity in the remote Yaktapa village has been generated with the use of improved water spin, popularly known as pani ghatta. It is the first time in the whole eastern region that pani-ghatta has been used to generate water-mill power.

The active involvement of the residents of Yaktapa and Phakaphok has been able to produced 5 megawatt electricity with the help of improved water-spin from the river of Phakaphok situated at the middle of Yaktapa and Phakaphok VDC.

The remote VDC has situated 60 kilometers away from the district headquarter. After the production of electricity, a total of 47 families have benefited from it.

The water-spin started producing energy, the locals of the Yaktapa and Phakaphok people have got the facilities of grinding their paddy and maize products.

The electricity generation project was completed under the assistance of help of Center of Alternate Energy (CRD). The CRD has helped Rs 27000 and the invested another Rs. 2,33,000 for the construction of the project.

A local, Ash Bahadur Limbu, had donated Rs. 1,50,000 for the construction of water spin, said Dil Bahadur Limbu president of consumers and electricity and improved water spin construction committee.

The capacity of project will be increased to 7 megawatt of power generation after some time, said Krishna Khanal, Eastern Region Supplier of the CRD.

According to the Limbu, after increasing the capacity of the project, about 90 families will be benefitted by electricity.

The Rising Nepal