Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said on Wednesday that a new mechanism is being developed to charge lower electricity tariffs to customers who consume more power. He made the announcement during a programme at the ministry, saying the proposed approach is intended to increase electricity consumption in Nepal.
A proposal to encourage greater consumption
Shrestha described the mechanism as being under development, rather than as a tariff change already in effect. Under the proposal as he outlined it, customers using more electricity would pay lower tariffs. The announcement did not provide details on how much rates might fall, which customers would qualify, or when the mechanism could be introduced.
The stated objective is to encourage greater electricity use across the country. The minister’s announcement links the proposed pricing approach to that goal, but the available details do not explain how the mechanism would be designed or how its impact would be assessed.
Details of the tariff mechanism remain pending
No specific rate structure was announced at the ministry programme. Shrestha did not, in the information available about the announcement, set out consumption thresholds, explain whether the lower charges would apply to households or other categories of customers, or clarify how different levels of use would be treated.
Those details will be important in determining how the proposed mechanism works in practice. For now, the announcement establishes the direction being considered: a system in which higher electricity consumption is associated with lower tariffs. It does not confirm that customers are already entitled to reduced rates or that existing tariff arrangements have changed.
The proposal also remains at the development stage, according to the minister’s statement. No implementation timetable or further steps were specified in the information provided. Until more is announced, the scope and practical effects of the plan remain unclear.
Government’s stated aim
Shrestha presented the proposed mechanism as a measure intended to increase electricity consumption in Nepal. The announcement provides a broad policy objective but does not include additional targets, projections or explanations of how much higher use the government expects the approach to encourage.
Further information on the design, eligibility and timing of the mechanism will be needed to understand how customers could be affected. The minister’s Wednesday remarks signal an intention to explore lower tariffs for higher consumption, while leaving the specific terms of any future arrangement to be clarified.
