IPPAN objects to draft grid connection procedure, proposes 19 amendments

The Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN) has submitted a 19-point amendment proposal expressing disagreement with the Nepal Electricity Authority's draft procedure on grid connection points and voltage level changes.

A team led by IPPAN Chair Mohan Kumar Dangi met the Authority's newly appointed Executive Director Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha and Electricity Trade Department chief Kamal Acharya to hand over the proposal.

IPPAN says the draft could unilaterally place risks and financial burdens on producers. It has demanded that delays caused by the Authority or other government bodies in building transmission infrastructure, and risks arising from changes to connection points, be shared fairly.

It has also sought arrangements to share risk between producers and the grid operator on RCOD and COD, grid impact studies, and transformer and transmission leakage. IPPAN has also put forward its position on a proposed provision requiring a project to have completed at least 30 percent physical progress before it can change its connection point or voltage level.