Distribution and Reliability
Grid reach, distribution losses and the still-incomplete evidence on the quality and continuity of electricity service in Nepal.
- Page status
- Verified core
- Updated
- 2026-11-04
- Last reviewed
- 2026-11-04
- Review due
- 2027-02-04
Reach and service are different
NEA reports 97.6% national grid coverage (18 local levels still unconnected) and 12.16% total system loss for FY 2025/26, down from 12.26% in FY 2024/25 (NEA Annual Report FY 2025/26, PDF pp.11, 13). These show grid expansion and aggregate efficiency; they do not establish that electricity is continuously available at adequate voltage to every connected customer.
The World Bank's 2025 economic memorandum cites 2022 enterprise evidence in which 76% of firms reported regular outages and more than 13% reported sales losses above 10% from power cuts. This is an important reliability signal, but it is a dated enterprise survey rather than a utility interruption series.
Uneven distribution performance
NEA's provincial-office reporting shows distribution losses ranging from 6.51% in Kathmandu to 17.02% in Surkhet in FY2024/25, with other offices between those values. These are administrative-office aggregates, not feeder engineering diagnostics. Electricity Consumption Geographic Distribution preserves the full table and source frame.
Evidence trail
| Observation | Value and date | What it measures | What it does not measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| National grid coverage | 97.6%, FY 2025/26 | NEA's network-reach measure | Connection quality, hours available or voltage quality |
| Total system loss | 12.16%, FY 2025/26 (12.26% in FY 2024/25) | Aggregate loss under NEA's system accounting | A feeder diagnosis or interruption metric |
| Distribution-office loss range | 6.51% Kathmandu to 17.02% Surkhet, FY2024/25 | Administrative-office aggregates | A causal explanation for technical versus non-technical loss |
| Firms reporting regular outages | 76%, 2022 enterprise evidence | Dated customer-experience evidence | National SAIDI/SAIFI or current household reliability |
The NEA observations come from NEA Annual Report FY 2024/25. The enterprise evidence is reported in World Bank Nepal Country Economic Memorandum (2025). These sources are complementary, but they cannot be combined into a single reliability score.
What this wiki can and cannot say
The evidence supports three bounded statements:
- Grid reach is now high by NEA's national coverage measure.
- Aggregate losses have fallen substantially over time but remain geographically uneven.
- Service-quality problems persist for firms, although current national interruption metrics are not publicly consolidated.
This wiki does not convert access into reliability or estimate missing interruption durations. It also does not infer that differences between office-level loss rates are caused by terrain, customer mix, theft or network condition without feeder evidence.
Official direction
Nepal's NDC 3.0 targets total transmission and distribution losses of 11.5% by 2030 and 10.5% by 2035, with smart metering and demand-side management among the stated measures. These are targets, not verified progress.
Evidence gaps
- National and feeder-level SAIDI and SAIFI.
- Interruption duration, reason and restoration time.
- Voltage quality and transformer loading.
- Feeder hosting capacity for solar, electric cooking and productive load.
- Comparable rural, urban and industrial service-quality indicators.
Related
Electricity Consumption Geographic Distribution · Demand and Electrification · Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) · Unresolved Questions