Bhote Koshi Power Company (BKPC) is a pioneering Independent Power Producer in Nepal. It was established in response to the Government of Nepal's request for private investments in power generation to alleviate the severe power shortages of the 1990s. It was incorporated in June 1996 under the Company Act 2021 of Nepal with American FDI. This is Nepal's first privately funded IPP and the first foreign direct investment in hydropower development. The Company owns and operates the 45MW Upper Bhote Koshi Hydroelectric Project (UBKHEP) which has been in operation from year 2001. The project was developed with 30% equity and 70% financing. Principal financing for development was provided by IFC Washington and DEG Germany. The principal equity holder was Panda Energy from USA who divested their equity in 2006. Currently the majority are Nepali shareholders with 95% of the equity and remaining 5% portion retained by a US Company.
BKPC has a Project Agreement with the Government of Nepal for the development of UBKHEP and has a 40-year License. BKPC has a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Nepal Electricity Authority with a term of 25 years from the Commercial Operation Date. Half of the project assets would be transferred to NEA upon maturity of the PPA. And under the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) policy of the Government of Nepal, the UBKHEP will eventually be fully transferred to the Government of Nepal upon maturity of the License.
BKPC also has a Supplementary Power Purchase Agreement with NEA for sale of excess electricity beyond the original PPA. The SPPA tariff has been fixed in Nepali Rupees at NRs 1.625 per kWh, which is one of the cheapest rates in Nepal.
Construction of UBKHEP was started from around 1997 and went into commercial operation from Jan 2001.
UBKHEP had been severely damaged as a consequence of rockfalls in the aftermath of the Gorkha Earthquake and its aftershocks in April 2015. While the project was undergoing rehabilitation after the earthquake, a GLOF in the Bhote Koshi River in July 2016 further and substantially damaged the project. BKPC has done major repair and rehabilitation of the project with added protective measures to make the project more robust and resilient to natural disasters.
After completion of the reconstruction works, the project resumed commercial operation from Dec 2019 and thereafter has been reliably supplying power to the national grid.
BKPC operates and maintains UBKHEP with its own team of highly experienced managers, engineers, and support staff, most of whom has been with the project from the beginning. The team is supported by an extensive network of international and national consultants, OEMs and vendors.
UBKHEP is one of the best maintained projects in Nepal and is consistently admired for its maintenance.
Executive Team
The Company is owned and operated by one of the biggest and most respected business houses in Nepal, with the executive team consisting of some of the highly experienced personnel in the business. The key personnel are as follows:
Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board
Manish Agrawal
Director – Group Operations
Bikram Ratna Sthapit
Chief Executive Officer
Laju Pradhan
DGM- HR & Administration
Bishwo Mohan Karmacharya
Company Secretary, DGM – Accounts and Finance
Babin Pradhan
AGM -Finance and Administration
Jiban Prasad Dallakoti
AGM- Legal
The O&M Team looking after the project consist of highly experienced Managers, Engineers and Support staff. Most of the personnel has been with the project from the beginning. The key personnel are as follows:
Ajay Kumar Singh
Plant Manager
Janak Raj Pant
Deputy Plant Manager
Rajendra Prasad
Maintenance Manager
Kiran Bhattarai
Admin Manager
Chet Kunwar, Senior OME
Shambhu Prasad Lamsal, Senior OME
Mishan GC, OME
Mahendra Shrestha, OME
Narendra Prasad Chaudhary, Senior OME
Saroj Shrestha, OME
Samir Khatiwada, OME
Sanjit Kumar Mahato, Jr. OME
158/76 Red Cross Marg
P.O.Box: 15153, Tahachal, Kathmandu, Nepal