BIRATNAGAR: Citing long load-shedding hours and its crippling effect on business, industrialists and business persons in the east have sought resumption of the multi-fuel plant in Morang, Basbari.
The power facility that has been shut for the past seven months.
Earlier, Nepal Electricity Authority had shut the plant saying it could not manage the operational cost.
“It is a shame that a state-owned corporation like NEA should say it has shut the plant because it could not afford its operational cost,” said Abinash Bohara, Chairperson of Morang Commerce Association, adding that the plant should resume operation soon to rescue industries along the Morang-Sunsari industrial corridor.
The plant has been shut since May.
“Until and unless we get a direction to this effect from the NEA, we don’t have any plans to resume the plant,” said plant Chief Baburaj Maharjan.
With the onset of winter, loadshedding hours have gone up to 9 hours this week. Almost 600 industries along the corridor are facing the brunt of long power cuts.
The plant has the capacity to produce up to 35 MW power if its all six units are operated. “Despite the loadshedding problem, there is no point in operating the plant as its operating cost far exceeds the money the NEA gets by selling the power generated from it,” added Maharjan. “The plant is operated with furnace fuel. It costs Rs 29 to produce one unit of power while NEA can sell the same unit of power at only Rs 10,” said Maharjan, asking how the plant could be operated at such a loss.
Source : The Himalayan
