Kathmandu — In the dispute over dedicated and trunk line arrears, the Nepal Electricity Authority has sent a letter to the Electricity Regulatory Commission seeking approval to cut off power to industries that have not cleared their dues. The authority stated that despite applying other pressure tactics, industrialists have failed to settle their arrears, prompting the request for approval on Monday.
On November 26, the commission had directed the authority to take pressure-based actions, excluding power disconnection, to collect the outstanding dues for dedicated feeders and trunk lines from industries.
We have been applying various pressures on industries to pay their dues as per the commission’s directive. We have sent letters twice,” said an official of the authority. “However, no industrialist has come forward to make the payment. That is why we have sought the commission’s approval to cut off power to those industries.”
Commission Chairman Ram Prasad Dhital stated that while he was aware of the letter from the authority, he had not yet had the chance to review its full details. “I was informed that the letter arrived on Monday, but I haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet,” he said. “Once I go through it, we will decide on the next steps.”
The commission led by former Justice Girish Chandra Lal had suggested recalculating and collecting the waived charges by verifying the days and duration of electricity supply to customers based on the standards of that time. The Nepal Electricity Authority claims that the outstanding dues from January 2016 to April 2018 amount to NPR 6.6 billion. According to regulations, since the dues have exceeded 60 days, an additional 25% surcharge must be paid, bringing the total outstanding amount to NPR 8.25 billion.
On November 17 , the Ministry of Energy formed a committee under the coordination of Arvind Kumar Mishra to study the pricing and technical aspects of TOD (Time of Day) meter billing issued by the Nepal Electricity Authority.
The commission had also directed that no further action be taken until the committee submitted its report to the government. However, the Nepal Electricity Authority had been claiming that the committee formed by the Ministry of Energy was illegal, as it should have been formed through the Electricity Regulatory Commission. Regarding this matter, Energy Minister Deepak Khadka stated during a board meeting on December 19 that the authority itself should provide the committee with salaries, office supplies, and even vehicles.
In a Cabinet meeting held on November 10, a decision was made to collect the outstanding dues within 15 days by calculating them based on Time of Day (TOD) meters. Following this, on November 12, the authority’s Board of Directors issued a notice to settle the arrears by November 27. At that time, on November 26 , the commission had given the authority a four-point directive, asking not to disconnect electricity to industries.
As per the commission’s directive to take pressure-based actions other than disconnecting electricity to industries, the authority had sent letters to the Nepal Rastra Bank, Securities Board, and the Company Registrar. Additionally, the authority has repeatedly urged industries to clear their arrears. However, the dues have not been collected.
In response to the proposal to provide services and facilities to the committee, the Managing director of the authority, Kulman Ghising, wrote a “Note of Dissent” on December 31. Following that, on January 6 , Energy Minister Khadka sought a nine-point clarification from him. Ghising submitted his clarification on January 12.
Earlier, Minister Khadka had already asked Ghising for a 15-point clarification through a ministerial decision and a 6-point clarification through a secretary-level decision. Khadka has even set up his office within the authority. Most recently, the authority disconnected electricity to 40 industries at once on October 24.
Source: Kantipur
