Entrepreneurs in Nepal’s energy sector have intensified their protest against the government’s newly introduced ‘take-and-pay’ power purchase policy, launching a coordinated social media campaign on Sunday, June 22.
As part of a phased protest led by the Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal (IPPAN), entrepreneurs flooded social media platforms with black banners and tagged top officials—including the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Energy Minister, and the Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)—urging them to revoke the provision.
Read: IPPAN Announces Protest Campaign Against 'Take-and-Pay' Policy
The ‘controversial’ clause, introduced through the national budget on May 29 for the upcoming fiscal year, replaces the long-standing 'take-or-pay' model. Under the new arrangement, NEA will only pay for the electricity it actually purchases from run-of-the-river (RoR) hydropower projects. The previous system, by contrast, guaranteed payment to producers regardless of actual consumption, which they argue provided financial security and predictability for private investors.
IPPAN, the umbrella body representing private sector players in the power industry, launched its protest last Friday, calling the shift regressive and damaging to investor confidence.
On the first day, IPPAN submitted a formal memorandum to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. On Saturday, they followed up with a mass SMS drive, sending hundreds of coordinated messages to PM Oli, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, Energy Minister Deepak Khadka, and NEA Managing Director Hitendra Dev Shakya, pressing for immediate withdrawal of the policy.
On the third day of the protest, the messaging turned sharper. Social media posts warned that the ‘take-and-pay’ provision would dismantle the role of the private sector in energy development, revive the risk of load-shedding, devastate investor morale, and jeopardise Nepal’s broader economic trajectory.
Read: FM Paudel in the Hot Seat as 'Take-and-Pay' Sparks Uproar in Power Sector
As the protest campaign intensifies, IPPAN plans to issue a joint statement in collaboration with other private sector organisations after internal consultations on Monday. A second wave of SMS outreach is also planned for Tuesday, targeting the Speaker of the House of Representatives and chief whips of major political parties.
Should the government fail to reverse the policy before the budget is passed, IPPAN has warned of further escalation. The protest will move into its second and third phases, potentially including symbolic actions such as returning hydropower project keys to the government as a mark of dissent.
