Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) was created on August 16, 1985 (Bhadra 1, 2042) under the Nepal Electricity Authority Act. 1984, through the merger of the Department of Electricity of Ministry of Water Resources, Nepal Electricity Corporation and related Development Boards.
To remedy the inherent weakness associated with these fragmented electricity organizations with overlapping and duplication of works, merger of this individual organisation became necessary to achieve efficiency and reliable service.

The primary objective of NEA is to generate, transmit and distribute adequate, reliable and affordable power by planning, constructing, operating and maintaining all generation, transmission and distribution facilities in Nepal's power system both interconnected and isolated.

In addition to achieving above primary objective, NEA's major responsibilities are:
a. To recommend to Government of Nepal, long and short- term plans and policies in the power sector.
b. To recommend, determine and realize tariff structure for electricity consumption with prior approval of Government of Nepal.
c. To arrange for training and study so as to produce skilled manpower in generation, transmission, distribution and other sectors.