KATHMANDU, MARCH 29

Industrialists in Province 1 have drawn the government's attention to solve the prolonged power cuts in the industrial sectors since last week.

Issuing a joint statement today, Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) Province 1, Morang Merchants' Association (MMA) and Chamber of Industries Morang (CIM) have urged the concerned authorities to provide enough electricity for smooth operation of COV- ID-battered industries.

'The load shedding of up to 14 hours has exacerbated the woes of COVID-battered industries reeling under high interest liabilities,' statement reads. 'If the concerned bodies are unable to solve this issue, we will be compelled to close down the industries.'

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), to ensure uninterrupted power supply to industries, had placed a bid of Rs 38 per unit, tax inclusive, on Friday to purchase electricity from India.

But industries have blamed NEA for failing to provide sufficient electricity to industries even after committing to solve the power shortage by purchasing it at the highest rate from India.

In the statement signed by CNI Province 1 President Bhim Ghimire, MMA President Nabin Rijal and CIM President Suyash Pyakurel, they have questioned the rationale behind the country facing a power deficit from the situation of energy surplus overnight.

'Despite NEA's commitment to prevent power shortage in the industrial sector by purchasing power at whatever the cost, the credibility of the responsible officials has been cast in doubt with 12-hour power cuts announced just two days later,' press statement stated.

Speaking at a press meet last week on the current power crisis, Executive Director of NEA Kulman Ghising had assured to provide power to the industry and business sector at any cost.

The power supply to the industries has been interrupted even after bidding a high price as power plants in India have failed to generate sufficient electricity due to the escalating Russia-Ukraine tension resulted in the prices of petroleum products and coal to soar, explained Suresh Bhattrai, spokesperson for the NEA.

'Even in India, the bidders are not getting full quantum of electricity at the Indian Energy Exchange Ltd (IEX) due to coal shortage. So simply bidding a higher rate won't guarantee that we will get maximum quantum,' said Bhattarai.

Stating that there is no other option to power cuts at this point in time, he assured that this is a short-term crisis that is likely to persist for a month.

'We have been requesting the Indian government to provide additional 200 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, which should be enough to meet the demand of the industries.'

According to NEA, out of daily domestic demand of 31,000 MW, Nepal had been importing 12,000 MWh from India every day. Of that quantum, NEA had been importing around 450 Mwh by bidding on IEX on a daily basis. Likewise, NEA had been purchasing electricity from India on a need basis from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakh at fixed price under the 'purchase and pay' mechanism.

Nepal had signed a one-year agreement with NTPC Ltd and PTC India to purchase electricity at the fixed price. However, India halted exporting electricity at the fixed rate before the end of agreement due to a surge in power prices following the Russia-Ukraine war.

As per Bhattrai, NEA has been providing electricity to industries for up to 12 hours during the day. 'The industries blaming NEA for failing to provide sufficient power are seeking roundthe-clock uninterrupted supply due to cheaper rate at night.'

A version of this article appears in the print on March 30, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.