Karnali aims for full electrification within 18 months

Nepal Electricity Authority’s (NEA) Karnali Province Office has set an ambitious target to provide electricity to all households in Karnali within the next 18 months. Currently, 74.25 percent of households in the province have access to electricity, leaving 24.75 percent yet to be connected. Despite the challenges posed by Karnali’s rugged terrain, the NEA is determined to complete electrification within the given timeframe, supported by a contract worth Rs 12bn.

Shambhu Kusiyat Yadav, head of the NEA Karnali Province Office, expressed confidence in the project’s success. “Karnali will be fully illuminated within the next year and a half,” Yadav said. “We are working diligently to expand electricity service to every household.”

The NEA has completed surveys in areas where electricity has not yet reached, and the contract process for expansion is underway. Transportation of materials for the extension project is in progress, aiming to ensure that all Karnali residents have electricity within the target period.

Karnali currently has 279,078 households connected to the national grid, while 35,698 households rely on small hydropower, and 244,344 households use solar power, according to the NEA Karnali Province Office.

Electrification status across Karnali districts

The highest electrification rate is in Rukum Paschim, where 94 percent of households are connected. In contrast, Humla has the lowest electrification rate at just 24 percent. Other districts’ electrification rates are as follows:

• Surkhet: 84 percent
• Salyan: 77 percent
• Jajarkot: 45 percent
• Kalikot: 70 percent
• Jumla: 57 percent
• Dolpa: 39 percent
• Dailekh: 80 percent
• Mugu: 34 percent

Thirteen of Karnali’s 79 local levels remain without electricity, including six in Dolpa, four in Humla, and three in Mugu. The NEA aims to reach these areas within 18 months, overcoming geographical barriers to make Karnali a fully electrified province. Local levels still without electricity include Dolpo Buddha, Shey-Phoksundo, Jagdulla, Mudkechula, Kaike, and Charkatangsok in Dolpa; Sarkegad, Chankheli, Adanchuli, and Tanjakot in Humla; and Mugumkarmarong, Soru, and Khatya in Mugu.

Karnali bright program and state funding

Karnali lags behind Nepal’s other provinces in electrification, prompting the state government to launch the Karnali Bright Program to eliminate energy poverty in the region. This year, the government allocated NPR 100 million to the program, managed by the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy Development. However, Engineer Prem Bahadur Oli noted that staffing shortages have slowed the progress of small hydropower projects.

Initiated under former Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi, the program originally aimed to electrify 90 percent of Karnali households by 2023. While that goal remains unmet, the government and NEA continue to work toward bringing light to every home in Karnali.