The Nepali government should relinquish its hold over small-scale hydropower and leave the arena free for more efficient consumer-run schemes.
In the upper reaches of the Kali Gandaki gorge, north of Annapurna Himal, there are micro-hydropower plants within an hour's walk of each other. They serve five villages in Tharkot, Muktinath and Thong together generating 60 kW of electricity. These plants are owned by the villagers and were constructed at their initiative — with door to door collection, voluntary labour, as well as subsidy from outside organisations and the government and loans from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB/N).
Micro-hydro (up to 100 kW) and mini-hydro (up to 1000 kW) schemes were first put up by the Small Hydro Department of the NEA in the early 1980s to serve district headquarters and other major hill townships. In 1984, micro hydropower was delicensed, allowing villagers to build their own units and charge their own rates. The following year [ADB/N] came out with a programme to subsidise village-level hydro-electric schemes by up to 50 per cent (although the granting of the subsidy has been irregular). Today, there are about 20 operating small hydro schemes built by the NEA and over 70 smaller units built privately, such as at Jharkot, Muktinath and Jhong.
It is these smaller non-NEA electrified hamlets that show the way towards finally utilising Nepal's hydro-power potential for the benefit of its villagers. The experience of the past decade indicates that the government NEA to be specific, should relinquish its hold over all small-scale (and not just micro-) hydro-power development and leave the arena free for cheaper, more efficient and better managed consumer-run schemes. As the rural consumer's needs grow, the government must allow private sector entrepreneurs to build into the mini-hydro range (and beyond). More than 50 years ago, another mountainous country with a large rural population, Norway. was electrified through rural hydroelectric cooperatives. There is no reason why Nepalis should not follow the Norwegians.