Kathmandu, Aug. 17 -- In the fiscal year 2018-19, the Department of Electricity Development received Rs 1.49 billion in energy royalties paid by both state-owned and independent power projects in commercial operation.

Ten years ago, the amount collected in energy royalties which will translate to budgetary funds divided among all three tiers of government, was around Rs 768.84 million. The amount was collected from 27 hydel plants churning out slightly higher than 626 MW of electricity.

Over the review period, Nepal has not made significant strides in power generation as the country is yet to self-generate the quantum of power enough to satisfy domestic demand during peak hours. Also, the state-owned owned plant, 144 MW Kaligandaki A wh...