NEA Electricity Tariff: Full Rate Schedule by Category & Ampere Band

Retail electricity prices in Nepal are no longer set by the utility itself. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state-owned power utility established in 2042 BS (1985 AD), must petition the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC), the independent regulator created in 2019 under the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, 2074 (2017). The ERC reviews NEA's costs, holds public hearings and issues a binding tariff order that fixes the rate for every customer category.

The schedule in force today comes from the ERC's consumer tariff determination of Mangsir 2078. It applies to electricity consumed from 1 Mangsir 2078 (17 November 2021) onward, with billing under the new rates starting from Poush 2078 (mid-December 2021). That revision cut the overall average tariff by about 1.04 percent, reduced irrigation rates by an average of 40.69 percent, and made energy free for 5-ampere households using up to 20 units a month. The ERC re-published the full text of this decision on 3 Falgun 2082 (15 February 2026), and as of Asar 2083 (mid-2026) it remains the current NEA consumer tariff; no newer consumer tariff order has replaced it.

The schedule is built from three kinds of charges. Domestic customers pay a monthly minimum (service) charge fixed by their ampere band and consumption slab, plus an energy charge per kilowatt-hour (kWh, one 'unit'). Most other categories instead pay a demand charge in rupees per kVA of sanctioned or recorded demand per month, plus a flat energy charge per unit. Categories are further split by supply voltage: low voltage (230/400 V), medium voltage (11 kV and 33 kV) and high voltage (66 kV and 132 kV).

Household (single-phase, 230 V) supply is billed on a block tariff with six monthly consumption slabs. Your total monthly units place you in one slab; that slab's per-unit energy rate and that slab's fixed service charge for your ampere band then apply. The energy rate is identical across ampere bands from 21 units upward; only the first slab (0-20 units) and the service charges differ by band. The full schedule below shows the monthly service charge for 5A / 15A / 30A / 60A, followed by the energy rate per unit.

The 0-20 unit slab on a 5-ampere meter is Nepal's lifeline tariff: no energy charge is levied at all and the bill is just the Rs 30 minimum. About 2.2 million low-consumption customers benefited when the rule took effect, though the Kathmandu Post reported in October 2022 that the number of beneficiaries falls as households consume more. One special rule applies to 5A meters: if consumption exceeds 20 units in a month, the first 20 units are charged at Rs 3.00 per unit, with the balance at the applicable slab rate.

Larger homes and apartment buildings that take a three-phase 400 V domestic connection are not billed on slabs. They pay a monthly minimum charge of Rs 1,100 for capacity up to 10 kVA, or Rs 1,800 above 10 kVA, and a seasonal flat energy rate: Rs 10.50 per unit for consumption from Ashadh through Kartik (roughly mid-June to mid-November, the wet season) and Rs 11.50 per unit from Mangsir through Jestha (mid-November to mid-June, the dry season).

Bulk domestic supply at medium voltage (11 kV or 33 kV), used by large housing colonies, carries a monthly minimum charge of Rs 10,000 with energy at Rs 10.50 per unit in the wet season and Rs 11.00 in the dry season. The seasonal split reflects Nepal's hydrology: run-of-river hydropower is abundant in the monsoon, while dry-winter demand is partly met by imports, so the regulator prices dry-season energy slightly higher.

All non-household customers at low voltage pay a demand charge per kVA per month plus a single energy rate per unit, with no consumption slabs. The commercial category (shops, hotels, private offices) pays the widely quoted NEA commercial electricity rate of Rs 11.20 per unit plus Rs 325 per kVA. The non-commercial category (government offices, schools, non-profit institutions) pays Rs 12.00 per unit plus Rs 215 per kVA. The complete low-voltage list from the ERC order is below (demand charge; energy rate).

Two socially priced categories stand out. Irrigation pumping pays no demand charge and only Rs 2.25 per unit, among the cheapest power in the country after the 2078 revision. Religious sites (temples, monasteries, mosques and churches) also pay no demand charge at low voltage, with energy at Rs 6.10 per unit. At the other end, temporary connections for events and construction are the most expensive supply at Rs 19.80 per unit.

Medium and large industries connect at 11 kV, 33 kV, 66 kV or 132 kV and pay lower energy rates the higher the voltage, because they bear their own transformation losses. Under the flat (non-time-of-day) schedule, industry at 132 kV pays a demand charge of Rs 230 per kVA per month plus Rs 8.20 per unit; at 66 kV it is Rs 240 plus Rs 8.30; at 33 kV Rs 255 plus Rs 8.40; and at 11 kV Rs 255 plus Rs 8.60.

The same medium-voltage levels also serve non-industrial customers. At 33 kV, commercial users pay Rs 315/kVA plus Rs 10.80 per unit, non-commercial users Rs 240/kVA plus Rs 11.40, irrigation Rs 2.50 per unit with no demand charge, community drinking water Rs 4.60 (no demand charge), other drinking water Rs 160/kVA plus Rs 6.60, public transport Rs 230/kVA plus Rs 5.60 and other transport Rs 255/kVA plus Rs 8.60, while the non-domestic and entertainment categories pay Rs 350/kVA plus Rs 12.55 and Rs 13.50 respectively.

At 11 kV the corresponding rates are: commercial Rs 315/kVA plus Rs 11.10; non-commercial Rs 240/kVA plus Rs 11.50; irrigation Rs 2.60 per unit (no demand charge); community drinking water Rs 4.80 (no demand charge); other drinking water Rs 150/kVA plus Rs 6.80; public transport Rs 230/kVA plus Rs 5.60; other transport Rs 255/kVA plus Rs 8.80; religious sites Rs 220/kVA plus Rs 9.90; temporary connections Rs 330/kVA plus Rs 12.00; non-domestic Rs 350/kVA plus Rs 12.90; and entertainment businesses Rs 350/kVA plus Rs 13.90.

Industrial and other TOD-metered customers can be billed by time block: peak time is 5 pm to 11 pm, off-peak is 11 pm to 5 am, and normal time is 5 am to 5 pm. From Baishakh through Mangsir (mid-April to mid-December) all three rates apply; from Poush through Chaitra (mid-December to mid-April, the deep dry season) the off-peak discount disappears and the normal rate runs from 11 pm right through to 5 pm. For example, an 11 kV TOD industrial customer pays a Rs 250/kVA demand charge with energy at Rs 10.50 (peak), Rs 5.40 (off-peak) and Rs 8.55 (normal) per unit in the Baishakh-Mangsir period; a 33 kV industrial customer pays Rs 250/kVA with Rs 10.20 / Rs 5.25 / Rs 8.40; at 66 kV the rates are Rs 10.10 / Rs 4.75 / Rs 8.30 and at 132 kV Rs 10.00 / Rs 4.65 / Rs 8.20.

The 2078 order also created a dedicated, demand-charge-free TOD tariff for electric vehicle charging and battery-swap stations. Charging stations serving fare-regulated public transport (electric buses and minibuses, safa tempos, trolleybuses) pay, per unit: Rs 8.40 peak / Rs 4.45 off-peak / Rs 6.60 normal at 33 kV; Rs 8.60 / Rs 5.05 / Rs 6.70 at 11 kV; and Rs 8.70 / Rs 5.05 / Rs 6.90 at low voltage. 'Other transport' users such as cable cars, ropeways, metros and private EV charging pay Rs 11.20 / Rs 4.45 / Rs 10.10 at 33 kV, Rs 11.60 / Rs 5.05 / Rs 10.20 at 11 kV and Rs 11.70 / Rs 5.15 / Rs 10.30 at low voltage. Station operators may add a margin of at most 20 percent per unit when reselling electricity to vehicle owners.

Community rural electrification bodies that buy power in bulk from NEA and retail it to member households have their own wholesale tariff based on membership: if a community entity has N member consumers, its first N x 20 units each month are free of energy charge, consumption beyond that costs Rs 6.00 per unit at 11/33 kV or Rs 6.25 per unit at low voltage, and the monthly minimum charge is N x Rs 30. The ERC order also fixes ancillary service fees, such as charges for new-connection applications, meter testing and reconnection, which appear on bills as one-off items.

A significant add-on arrives with the federal budget for fiscal year 2083/84 (2026/27): value-added tax (VAT) applies to electricity from mid-July 2026. Households consuming up to 50 units a month stay fully exempt; consumption above 50 units attracts a concessional 5 percent VAT, while other (non-household) consumers pay the standard 13 percent. NEA data cited in budget coverage show about 2.60 million domestic customers use more than 50 units a month and will pay the new VAT, while about 3.03 million stay outside the net; the government expects roughly Rs 5.5 billion a year from households.

To read your own bill: a domestic bill equals the slab service charge plus units multiplied by the slab energy rate (plus VAT where applicable from FY 2083/84); other categories pay demand charge multiplied by kVA plus units multiplied by the category energy rate. Rates only change when the ERC issues a new tariff order after a public hearing, so any future revision will be announced on erc.gov.np and reported widely. Always verify an exact figure against your bill or the ERC/NEA schedules before making financial decisions.