– Textile, fruit processing, and plastic industries have started giving workers alternative leave; more than 1,800 workers affected
– Continuous power cuts over two months have disrupted the production cycle of industries in the commercial hub of Biratnagar
– Poor-quality electricity has put industries in the Birgunj–Pathalaiya corridor in crisis
Biratnagar and Parsa — As the frequency of electricity tripping (power coming and going) has increased, the number of people demanding the publication of a load-shedding schedule on social media is also on the rise. While industrialists have been complaining about unofficial load-shedding in industrial areas, last Thursday, there were power outages due to tripping and hours-long blackouts in Kathmandu as well as central and eastern parts of the country. Immediately after, from industrial sectors to households, people began demanding a load-shedding schedule on social media.
The Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Hitendra Dev Shakya, held a press conference on Friday at the Load Dispatch Center in Syuchatar, where he clarified that there would be no return of load-shedding and that the recent power outages were due to technical reasons. However, industrialists in Biratnagar have stated that continuous power cuts over the past two months have severely disrupted the production cycle of industries. According to them, due to the unofficial load-shedding, dozens of industries in the Morang–Sunsari industrial corridor have been forced to reduce production.
Krishna Regmi, the office head of the Morang Chamber of Industry and Commerce, stated that due to arbitrary daily power cuts, more than 350 small and large industries in the corridor have been facing problems. “There is an issue of cutting electricity at will, and power tripping is just as frequent. This has started causing problems in machines and raw materials,” he said. “The Electricity Authority hasn’t even provided a load-shedding schedule.”
President of the Morang Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Anupam Rathi, stated that due to irregular and insufficient electricity supply, industries have been unable to operate at full capacity. “Compared to other countries, our production cost is relatively high,” Rathi said. “For industries, ensuring smooth electricity supply is the top priority.” He mentioned that due to irregular and unofficial load-shedding, production costs have increased by 30 percent. According to Rathi, the use of generators running on imported diesel has added thousands of rupees in extra expenses per hour. Textile, fruit processing, and plastic industries have started giving workers ‘alternative leave’. Data from the Morang Chamber shows that more than 1,800 permanent and contract workers are currently affected.
Due to irregular and unofficial load-shedding, the production cost of industries has increased by 30%: Anupam Rathi, President, Morang Chamber of Industry and Commerce
In the industrial corridor, power is being cut for sometimes 8 hours, sometimes up to 12 hours: Madhav Rajpal, Senior Vice President, Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Industrialists have stated that due to delays in delivery, they were forced to cancel orders worth over 420 million rupees from India and Bangladesh. Pawan Sharada, President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, said that load-shedding has had an overall impact on the industrial sector. “It has affected everything from production and distribution to the workers,” he said.
Industrialists have stated that due to the inability to deliver on time, they were compelled to cancel orders worth over 420 million rupees from India and Bangladesh. Pawan Sharada, President of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, mentioned that load-shedding has had a widespread impact on the industrial sector. “It has affected everything—from production and sales distribution to the workers,” he said.
At a time when there is talk of reindustrialization, the increasing problem of power cuts has created confusion over whether to run the machines or shut down the industries, says industrialist Navin Rijal. He stated that they are being forced to waste 1.2 tons of raw materials every day.
Rakesh Surana, President of the Morang Industrial Association, complained that irregular electricity supply has made it extremely difficult to operate industries. He claimed that unless the power supply is improved, industrial operations will suffer greatly. “The problem of electricity irregularity needs to be resolved quickly,” he said, “if it is not improved, there will be no option but to take to the streets in protest.”
Like the industrialists in Morang, industries in the Birgunj–Pathalaiya industrial corridor are also facing crises due to unofficial load-shedding and poor-quality electricity. Industrialists complain that excessive tripping and the absence of a fixed power-cut schedule have reduced the production capacity of industries in the corridor to 20 to 25 percent.
Madhav Rajpal, Senior Vice President of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that there is no fixed schedule or standard for power cuts in the corridor. “Sometimes power is cut for 6 to 8 hours, other times for 10 to 12 hours,” he said. “The authority must openly admit that this is load-shedding. Can it still be hidden?”
Hari Gautam, the president of the association, says that due to the absence of any fixed time or schedule for power cuts in the corridor, electricity is being cut for 8 to 12 hours daily. He also mentioned that because the demand for electricity exceeds capacity and supply does not meet demand, there are even problems with the power going out for a minute at a time.
He stated that industries in the corridor have been able to operate at only 20 to 25 percent of their full capacity with great difficulty. He also mentioned that, for now, a rotational load-shedding schedule should be made in the corridor to provide quality electricity to the industries.
Avadesh Dubey, Chief Engineer of the Nepal Electricity Authority’s Birgunj Distribution Center, stated that since the power cuts are happening at the central level, they have no role to play in this matter. “We only handle the distribution side,” he said. “The cuts are happening from the center itself.” Dubey mentioned that although 200 megawatts of electricity are available for the corridor—150 megawatts from India and 40 to 50 megawatts internally—the demand is 300 megawatts.
Source: Katipur
