Funding Nepal's Energy Drive

7/23/24, 10:20 PM Funding Nepal's energy drive
JULY 2024 ISSUE
Funding Nepal's energy drive

Lok Hari Luintel FCCA of Nepal Electricity Authority on how the utility company is meeting its green
energy targets
SHARE
AUTHOR
Peta Tomlinson, journalist
When Lok Hari Luintel started his career at Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), in 2011, less
than 55% of the population
READING: Funding hadNepal's
access energy
to electricity.
drive ‘Power outages occurred for up to
https://abmagazine.accaglobal.com/global/articles/2024/jul/public/funding-nepal-s-energy-drive.html 1/8
18 hours every day, crippling daily life and hampering economic progress,’ Luintel says.
Today, it’s a very different story, with blackouts just a bad memory, and the utility looking to
expand. ‘Almost 98% of households are connected to the grid, with new hydroelectricity power
plants being rolled out and advances in more efficient cross-border electricity trade,’ he says.
India and Bangladesh represent a big market for clean energy exports
READING: Funding Nepal's energy drive
Green growth
As deputy managing director (finance) at NEA, Nepal’s sole public sector institution for power
transmission and distribution, Luintel heads the finance directorate of a utility lauded for
improving the lives of millions domestically and emerging as a regional leader in green energy
production.
Along with a consumer shift towards induction cooking and electric vehicles, there has been a
marked increase in industrial power consumption in Nepal, while NEA has invested heavily in
renewables. Luintel says that energy-hungry neighbours India and Bangladesh represent a big
potential market for clean energy exports. Energy trading with India is already a significant
driver of revenue, and Nepal is now looking to become a net exporter of electricity by 2025.
To fully capitalise on the economic potential of energy exports, he says, Nepal will need to
invest huge resources into cross-border transmission infrastructure.
‘Nepal is currently generating merely 3,000 MW of hydroelectricity but it has the huge
potentiality for generation up to 50,000 MW,’ he says. ‘I feel excited to be a part of such vital,
progressive and dynamic sector in my country.’
Finance central
After his initial appointment to NEA as joint director, Luintel progressed through different roles
leading to his latest promotion in 2020. The directorate he leads is responsible for NEA’s overall
financial, accounting and audit functions, as well as revenue administration, budgetary control,
treasury management and financial planning, control and monitoring, all of which inform
decision-making at the corporate level.
‘NEA’s financial statements show an asset size of US$4.43bn and annual turnover of US$1.14bn
approximately,’ he says. ‘The 1,465 staff in my directorate work in more than 300 separate
accounting centres, with each submitting its financial reports to the central accounts department
where financial statements are prepared.’
Reporting directly to the managing director, Luintel’s responsibilities also involve dealing with
stakeholder agencies related to financial and accounting matters of national importance. The
corporate finance department and the accounts department report to him for their functional
areas of businesses.
‘I envisaged myself as a role model not only for my family but also my
remote village’
The way READING:

up Funding Nepal's energy drive
Luintel was motivated to work in public service ‘since my early days’, and envisaged himself as a
role model ‘not only for my family but also in my remote village’.
CV
2011–present
Joint director (accounts), then director (accounts), then deputy managing director (finance),
Nepal Electricity Authority
1999–2011
Assistant account officer, then account officer, Nepal Telecom
1998
Assistant administrative officer, National Planning Commission, Nepal
But life can sometimes get in the way of the best laid plans. Although he enrolled for an
accounting qualification after leaving school, family circumstances forced him to drop out mid-
course and get a job. During the 12 years he spent with Nepal Telecom, he completed an MBA
part-time while still nurturing dreams of a career as a professional accountant.
A colleague suggested ACCA’s qualification, and Luintel was impressed by the flexibility of its
studies and examinations ‘where I did not have to compromise my existing job’.
Even before completing his ACCA qualification he had joined NEA as joint director (finance). ‘It
was a much higher position than I’d held before,’ he says. He credits ACCA with making him
resourceful and competent enough to ultimately progress to the role of deputy managing
director of the largest public sector undertaking in the country.
‘We finalised our audit within the statutory timeline – a first in NEA’s
history’
Audit first
The role is a challenging one. ‘Centralisation of revenue billing accounts and inventory
management, along with timely audit, preparation and publishing of the consolidated financial
statements, are areas where there is a huge scope for improvement,’ he says. ‘I feel proud that
under my leadership, we were able to complete the latest financial statements’ consolidation
and audit finalisation within the stipulated statutory timeline – a first in the history of NEA.’
It is an achievement that is due in part to the digital transformation of the organisation, where
Luintel has played a leading role. A revenue management system that will integrate revenue
and billing system centrally is also being implemented and should be operational for the next
financial year.
His work has required close interaction with international agencies such as the World Bank and
Asian Development Bank, and, as a member of the board of eight NEA subsidiaries, he is
heavily involved with businesses at different stages of hydroelectricity generation, transmission
and operation.
Look ahead
Based in Kathmandu with his wife and two sons, Luintel spends his free-time with his family,
watching football and cricket, cooking and travelling. Enjoying all that life has to offer, he says, is
part of the eastern philosophy known as moksha: freedom from physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual baggage.
Next year, at the age of 50, Luintel will reach the five-year tenure limit for deputy managing
directors in NEA. This will mean a time of change yet the next phase in his career journey is
something that Luintel is looking forward to. ‘I hope my skills and experiences will be valuable
assets to leverage,’ he says.
Nepal Electricity Authority
1985
NEA created from a merger of various public sector organisations
20
Power plants in operation (18 hydro-electric, two thermal)
8,500
Total workforce
10,693
Total domestic consumption in GWh for the financial year 2022/23, a year-on-year rise of
14.5%
5.13m
Total number of consumers
PUBLIC SECTOR
The view from Prince Basutu ACCA
READ
CPD TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Decarbonising transport
READ
ADVERTISEMENT
IN THIS ISSUE
NEXT ARTICLE
JULY 2024 ISSUE
The view from Hester Chew FCCA
READ
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
JULY 2024 ISSUE
The view from Mariam Absar FCCA
READ
Contact ACCA
Help & Support
Legal & Copyright
Follow us on

Funding Nepal's Energy Drive

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Funding Nepal's Energy Drive

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Funding Nepal's Energy Drive

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

7/23/24, 10:20 PM Funding Nepal's energy drive

JULY 2024 ISSUE

Funding Nepal's energy drive

Peta Tomlinson, journalist

READING: Funding Nepal's energy drive

READING: Funding Nepal's energy drive

The way READING:

READING: Funding Nepal's energy drive

Nepal Electricity Authority

READING: Funding Nepal's energy drive

The view from Prince Basutu ACCA

CPD TECHNICAL ARTICLE

READING: Funding Nepal's energy drive

The view from Hester Chew FCCA

JULY 2024 ISSUE

The view from Mariam Absar FCCA

You might also like