Er.energyNP@Gmail.com

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has introduced an additional incentive for household consumers paying electricity bills online, following an initiative by Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha to expand digital payment services and reduce dependence on physical payment counters.

The NEA board has decided to provide an additional 0.50 percent “Smart Pay Reward” to domestic consumers who pay their electricity bills online during the first phase of the scheme, which will run for six months.

The new incentive will be available in addition to the existing 2 percent discount offered to consumers who pay their bills within seven days of meter reading. Domestic consumers paying through digital channels will receive the additional 0.50 percent reward even when they make payments outside that seven-day period.

Minister Shrestha has emphasised that electricity services should be brought directly to consumers rather than requiring them to visit NEA offices to complete routine transactions.

He said digital payments could save consumers time and travel expenses while reducing the authority’s administrative burden, cash-handling requirements and expenditure on physical infrastructure and staffing.

According to the minister, wider adoption of digital payments would also reduce cash transactions, improve payment security and strengthen financial transparency. He has urged families and community members to help people who lack digital access or the skills needed to use online payment systems.

More than 12.5 million? NEA data shows 1.25 million online-paying households

NEA data shows that the authority had 5,927,440 electricity consumers by the end of fiscal year 2025/26, with domestic consumers accounting for approximately 91 percent of the total.

An average of around 1.7 million customers per month were connected to the authority’s online payment system by the end of the fiscal year.

Among domestic consumers, approximately 3.352 million paid their electricity bills through physical counters, while 1.25 million used online channels, according to the authority’s figures.

The data indicates substantial room for increasing digital adoption, particularly among household consumers who continue to rely on physical payment facilities.

By the end of the previous fiscal year, the NEA had issued bills worth Rs 46.81 billion to approximately 5.372 million domestic consumers.

Of the Rs 119.87 billion collected from electricity sales by the end of the fiscal year, around Rs 40.99 billion was received through online payment channels. Domestic consumers accounted for approximately 40 percent of online collections, while other customer categories contributed the remaining 60 percent.

Digital payments could save Rs 262.9 million annually

The NEA operates 655 electricity bill collection counters under 129 distribution centres across the country. A total of 932 employees are deployed at these counters, according to the authority’s study.

The annual staffing and operational expenditure associated with counter-based collection activities is estimated at approximately Rs 597.9 million, equivalent to an average annual cost of around Rs 913,000 per counter.

In fiscal year 2025/26, the authority collected approximately Rs 81.36 billion through physical payment counters.

The NEA’s study concluded that the existing workload could potentially be managed through 367 counters instead of 655, allowing the authority to reduce its dependence on 288 counters.

Based on the estimated annual operating cost per counter, this could generate savings of approximately Rs 262.9 million annually, or around Rs 21.9 million per month.

The authority believes that encouraging online payments could help reduce operating costs while allowing staff and other resources to be redirected towards service delivery and other operational requirements.

Reward scheme expected to cost Rs 117 million

The NEA has also assessed the financial implications of offering rewards to encourage consumers to adopt digital payment methods.

Its study estimated that providing a 0.75 percent reward to domestic consumers for six months would cost approximately Rs 175.6 million. Under the current reward arrangement, the authority estimates the expenditure at around Rs 117 million.

Compared with the potential savings from reducing the number of physical collection counters, the authority considers the cost of promoting digital payments manageable.

The first phase of the Smart Pay Reward scheme will be evaluated before further decisions are made about its continuation or expansion, the NEA said.

The initiative is intended to make electricity bill payments more convenient for consumers while reducing the authority’s reliance on physical counters and improving the efficiency of its revenue collection system.