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Electricity Consumption Geographic Distribution

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Working page
Updated
2026-04-30

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Summary

Where Nepal's electricity is consumed — by province, by NEA distribution office, showing the stark development gradient from Terai industrial corridors to remote Karnali valleys. Data from the NEA Annual Report FY 2024/25, Distribution and Consumer Services Directorate provincial office reports.

Coverage / Method

  • Data source: NEA Annual Report FY 2024/25, Distribution and Consumer Services Directorate — provincial office reports with consumer counts, sales (GWh), revenue (NRs), and distribution loss percentages.
  • Method: Provincial totals assembled from nine NEA distribution/division office reports. Revenue per kWh and sales per consumer calculated from reported totals. Loss figures from NEA distribution-level reporting.
  • Known gaps: Lumbini Nepalgunj Division consumer count is approximated (report appears to carry over the Butwal figure). Provincial consumer total (~5.64M) is slightly below national total (5.708M) due to this duplication issue. Provincial-level sectoral splits (domestic/industrial/commercial) are not published.

Caveats

  • Consumer count duplication: Lumbini Nepalgunj Division consumer count may overlap with Butwal Division; the NEA report text appears to carry over the Butwal figure.
  • Provincial totals ≠ national total: The nine office aggregates sum to 11,283 GWh vs national DCSD total of 11,288 GWh (<0.1% gap, rounding). Consumer count gap is larger (68,000 consumers) due to the Lumbini duplication.
  • Loss figures are distribution-level only: System-wide losses include transmission and technical losses not captured in provincial distribution-office reports.
  • Single-year snapshot: FY 2024/25; the Terai-Karnali gradient is structural but year-to-year ratios may shift with grid extension.

Where Nepal's electricity is consumed — by province, by NEA distribution office, showing the stark development gradient from Terai industrial corridors to remote Karnali valleys. Data from the NEA Annual Report FY 2024/25, Distribution and Consumer Services Directorate provincial office reports.

Provincial Distribution — FY 2024/25

Province / Office Consumers (000s) Sales (GWh) Share of National Sales Revenue (NRs Bill.) Share of Revenue Average Revenue/kWh Avg Sales/Consumer (kWh) Distribution Loss
Bagmati (Kathmandu) 921 2,543 22.53% 27.863 25.51% 10.96 2,763 6.51%
Bagmati (Hetauda Div) 354 743 6.59% 7.245 6.63% 9.75 2,099 8.59%
Madhesh (Janakpur) 1,201 2,430 21.53% 21.746 19.91% 8.95 2,023 14.05%
Koshi (Biratnagar) 1,101 1,932 17.12% 18.120 16.59% 9.38 1,756 12.27%
Lumbini (Butwal) 573 1,662 14.73% 15.747 14.42% 9.47 2,901 8.61%
Lumbini (Nepalgunj Div) ~400* 712 6.31% 6.707 6.14% 9.42 ~1,780 10.11%
Gandaki (Pokhara) 516 740 6.56% 7.220 6.61% 9.76 1,435 8.67%
Sudurpaschim (Attaria) 399 421 3.74% 3.617 3.31% 8.59 1,054 13.60%
Karnali (Surkhet) 179 100 0.89% 0.952 0.87% 9.52 559 17.02%
Total / System Avg ~5,644 11,283 100% 109.217 100% 9.68 ~2,000 (10.39% national)

* Lumbini Nepalgunj Division consumer count is approximated — the NEA report text appears to carry over the Butwal figure. Sales and revenue figures are independently verified from the report.

The Geography of Nepal's Electricity — Three Gradients

1. The Terai Corridor Dominates

The seven Terai-adjacent offices (Madhesh, Koshi, Lumbini Butwal, Lumbini Nepalgunj, Bagmati Hetauda, plus the southern portions of Bagmati Kathmandu and Sudurpaschim) account for roughly 75% of national sales. The reasons:

  • Flat land — easier transmission and distribution infrastructure, lower cost per connection
  • Industrial concentration — brick kilns, cement plants, steel rerolling, food processing all concentrate in the Terai where roads and transport exist
  • Agriculture — tubewell irrigation, cold storage, agro-processing
  • Cross-border trade proximity — Biratnagar, Birgunj, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj are all border industrial towns
  • Higher population density — Madhesh, Lumbini, and Koshi are Nepal's most populous provinces

2. Kathmandu Valley Is the Revenue Engine

Bagmati (Kathmandu) office serves 16% of consumers but generates 25.5% of revenue and has the highest revenue-per-kWh (NRs 10.96) — reflecting a consumer mix tilted toward commercial and industrial customers paying higher tariffs. Per-consumer sales (2,763 kWh) is the highest in the country.

Combined Bagmati (Kathmandu + Hetauda): 29.1% of national sales, 32.1% of national revenue, from ~22% of consumers. The valley is Nepal's consumption center.

3. The Mountain Gradient Is Extreme

Metric Terai Leader (Madhesh) Mountain Floor (Karnali) Ratio
Sales (GWh) 2,430 100 24:1
Revenue (NRs Bill.) 21.746 0.952 23:1
Sales per consumer (kWh) 2,023 559 3.6:1
Distribution loss 14.05% 17.02% 0.83:1

Karnali's entire province (Surkhet office + 10 districts) consumes 100 GWh — about 4% of what Madhesh alone consumes. This is not just about population (Karnali has ~1.7M people vs Madhesh ~6.1M). It reflects:

  • Low electrification depth — connections exist but usage is minimal (559 kWh/consumer vs 2,023 kWh)
  • Biomass dominance — fuelwood remains the primary energy source; electricity is largely lighting-only
  • No industrial base — Karnali has no significant manufacturing, cold storage, or commercial load beyond district headquarters
  • High losses — 17.02% distribution loss (improved from 21.79% prior year, but still the highest) — a function of long rural feeders, hilly terrain, and low load density

4. Distribution Losses Follow Terrain, Not Policy

Office Loss % Terrain
Bagmati Kathmandu 6.51% Valley, dense urban
Gandaki Pokhara 8.67% Mid-hill urban/peri-urban
Lumbini Butwal 8.61% Terai, moderate density
Bagmati Hetauda 8.59% Inner Terai, corridor
Lumbini Nepalgunj 10.11% Terai, long feeders
Koshi Biratnagar 12.27% Terai, spread out
Sudurpaschim Attaria 13.60% Hill + Terai mix
Madhesh Janakpur 14.05% Terai, long flat feeders
Karnali Surkhet 17.02% Mountain, sparse

Three forces drive the loss gradient:

  1. Load density — urban areas have shorter feeders per kWh delivered
  2. Terrain — hill/mountain feeders use longer spans, suffer more faults, harder to maintain
  3. Theft/non-technical losses — higher in areas with weaker enforcement infrastructure

Where Industrial Load Is Concentrated

Based on the provincial data patterns (high per-consumer sales, high revenue-per-kWh, moderate-to-high losses), the main industrial electricity consumption belts are:

  1. Madhesh Province (Janakpur-Birgunj corridor): 2,430 GWh, highest absolute sales. The Birgunj-Raxaul border crossing, brick kiln clusters, steel mills. Revenue per consumer (NRs 18,103) is above average, suggesting heavy industrial mix.

  2. Koshi Province (Biratnagar corridor): 1,932 GWh, 1.1M consumers. The Biratnagar-Jogbani industrial zone — Nepal's oldest industrial area, jute mills, steel, food processing.

  3. Lumbini Province (Butwal-Bhairahawa belt): 1,662 GWh from only 573K consumers — the highest sales-per-consumer (2,901 kWh) in the country, indicating a very high industrial/commercial ratio. The Butwal-Bhairahawa industrial corridor and Siddharthanagar SEZ.

  4. Bagmati Kathmandu: 2,543 GWh but with lower industrial intensity per consumer — the highest revenue share comes from commercial customers and government/institutional load rather than heavy industry.

Chart Specification

  1. Choropleth map — Nepal provinces colored by per-capita electricity consumption (or total GWh)
  2. Scatter plot — sales per consumer vs distribution loss, each province labeled; the trade-off between density and efficiency is immediately visible
  3. Stacked bar by province — split between domestic/industrial/commercial/other if provincial-level splits become available

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