Nepal, Oct. 5 -- The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has extended the deadlines of 27 hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 540.47 MW to complete construction, providing relief to developers whose projects are making genuine progress but failed to meet their original deadlines.

The deadline extension, formally known as an extension of the Required Commercial Operation Date (RCOD), follows the NEA's assessment of projects that had signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) but could not complete construction within the scheduled timeframe. Energy entrepreneurs have long demanded such extensions, arguing that developers making genuine efforts should be given additional time while inactive promoters should be discouraged.

The NEA...