Energy and Infrastructure Law
Energy and infrastructure is a sector where regulatory requirements, project financing structures and construction risk all intersect, and where a project rarely moves forward without a lawyer who understands all three at once. We advise across that whole picture.
The Legal Framework
Nepal’s energy sector, and hydropower in particular, runs primarily on the Electricity Act, 2049 (1992), which requires a licence for any survey, generation, transmission or distribution of electricity, alongside the Companies Act, 2063 (2006) for project company incorporation. The Department of Electricity Development issues survey and generation licences up to defined thresholds, while larger projects fall under Investment Board Nepal. The Electricity Regulatory Commission sets tariffs and technical standards, and the Nepal Electricity Authority remains, in practice, the buyer most power projects will sell to.
Licensing follows a two-stage structure: a survey licence first, generally capped at five years and used to establish technical, financial and environmental feasibility, followed by a generation, transmission or distribution licence once the project clears that stage. A long-pending Electricity Bill intended to replace the 1992 Act remains under consideration, so businesses need to plan around a framework that is actively in motion.
Broader infrastructure projects such as roads, airports, bridges, cable cars and water and waste management layer on further requirements: environmental clearance under the Environment Protection Act, procurement rules under the Public Procurement Act where government funding or tendering is involved, and foreign investment approval under FITTA where foreign capital is part of the structure.
What We Do
- Foreign investment approval for energy and infrastructure projects through whichever body applies.
- Licensing: survey, generation, transmission and distribution licence applications from feasibility to final licence.
- Project agreements: drafting and negotiating Power Purchase Agreements, Power Development Agreements, grid connection agreements, joint venture and concession agreements, and EPC and O&M contracts.
- Legal due diligence on projects, including for mergers and acquisitions of project companies.
- Procurement and bidding support for infrastructure projects.
- Regulatory advisory across acquisition, development and operation.
- Litigation and arbitration in high-value, technically complex disputes.
- Legal reform engagement that keeps us current on where the regulatory framework is heading.
Our Experience
We have advised developers, government agencies, contractors, Nepalese and foreign investors, sponsors, lenders, multilateral agencies, suppliers and consultants across solar, mining, aviation, telecom, road, rail, logistics, airport, urban infrastructure, bridge, cable car and water projects. We also advise on carbon trading, which increasingly intersects with how renewable projects are financed.
