RPP lawmaker urges govt. to prioritize power export & investment-friendly policies
Rana cited a report from January 2025, highlighting that Nepal has a foreign currency reserve of approximately USD 15.66 billion—enough to cover 15 months of imports.
KATHMANDU: Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) lawmaker Pashupati Shumsher Rana has emphasized that Nepal should aim to not only fulfill its domestic electricity demand through local production but also become a major exporter of electricity.
Speaking at Tuesday’s House of Representatives session, Rana criticized the government’s economic performance, stating that the country’s revenue is insufficient to cover even regular expenditures.
He pointed out that the economy heavily relies on remittances sent by Nepali youth working abroad, which currently enables the country to import goods worth 75% of its GDP annually.
Rana cited a report from January 2025, highlighting that Nepal has a foreign currency reserve of approximately USD 15.66 billion—enough to cover 15 months of imports.
While Nepal imports electricity from India during dry seasons, Rana noted that the country exported 744 megawatts of electricity to India on Bhadra 7, 2081, during the monsoon.
He also mentioned that a recent agreement with Bangladesh allows Nepal to export 40 megawatts of electricity for five months during the rainy season.
Rana stressed Nepal’s immense hydropower potential, with the capacity to generate 83,000 megawatts.
However, only 3,500 megawatts are currently being produced.
To unlock this potential, he called on the government to attract both domestic and foreign investors by creating a corruption-free environment and enacting investor-friendly laws and regulations.
He criticized the government for its failure to create such conducive conditions so far.
