Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has reported a profit before tax of Rs 11.36 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year.

According to NEA’s unaudited financial report, published under the Right to Information Act, the state-owned power utility generated Rs 70.44 billion in revenue from electricity sales, interest earnings, and other sources. Meanwhile, total expenses—including power purchases and administrative costs among others—stood at Rs 59.08 billion.  

“The estimated profit, excluding taxes, from mid-July 2024 to mid-January 2025 is Rs 11.36 billion,” NEA stated. Its profit in the last fiscal year totalled Rs 14.46 billion.

The authority, once burdened by an annual loss of Rs 8.89 billion in FY 2015/16, has since turned around its financial performance. Its profits rose steadily to Rs 1.5 billion, Rs 3.44 billion, Rs 9.81 billion, and Rs 11.75 billion in subsequent fiscal years.  

After dipping to Rs 6.09 billion in FY 2020/21, profits resurged to Rs 13.37 billion in FY 2021/22 but dropped again to Rs 9.41 billion in FY 2022/23.  

In the first half of FY 2024/25, NEA said it collected Rs 53.18 billion from electricity sales while procuring 6.31 billion units of electricity worth Rs 34.84 billion. Of the total, 1.15 billion units were purchased from its subsidiaries and 5.16 billion units from private producers. 

Cross-border electricity trade with India remained a significant revenue source in the period. Nepal imported 242 million units of electricity from India, worth Rs 1.65 billion. Simultaneously, NEA exported 1.77 billion units of surplus electricity to the Indian market, earning Rs 13.09 billion in revenue.  

This story has been corrected.