KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said that Nepal is not yet in a position to fully transition into an electric era.
Responding to questions raised by lawmakers during Sunday’s meeting of the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Shah stated that the country’s current electricity infrastructure cannot support a massive increase in power consumption.
According to him, if the use of electric stoves and induction cookers expands rapidly across the country right away, transformers and substations could come under severe pressure.
“We are not in a position to immediately move into an electric era. If people start cooking widely using electric stoves and induction cookers right now, all the transformers and substations in the country could fail. Our current capacity cannot handle it,” he told Parliament.
Prime Minister Shah said that significant investment is needed to expand the capacity of the Nepal Electricity Authority, adding that the government is working to mobilize resources for that purpose.
He explained that the government introduced a 5 percent value-added tax (VAT) in the electricity sector to support the development of power infrastructure. According to him, the revenue collected from the tax will be used to upgrade transformers, transmission lines, and substations.
“This is not a very large amount. Transformers across the country need to be upgraded, the thickness of transmission wires needs to be increased, and only then can we move toward an electric era,” Shah said.
He also noted that the government aims to move toward an electricity-based economy in the future by strengthening the country’s energy infrastructure.
Jalasarokar