Just when the coronavirus pandemic was receding and Nepal's industry and business were getting back on their feet, a critical shortage of power is driving the industrialists nuts. Nepal derives almost all of its energy from hydropower plants, which produce just about half the power or even less in the winter months, which continues until the start of the monsoon rains in the second week of June. Hence, Nepal is dependent on India to meet the shortfall. This time, however, India itself is facing acute power outages due to a shortage of coal to fire its thermal power plants, an outcome of the war in Ukraine. India has, therefore, halted power exports for a few days following the rise in coal prices in the international market.

Consequently, power imports have been slashed to just about 10-15 per cent of our demands.

The power shortage has its biggest impact on the industrial sector, which is facing power cuts of up to 12 hours a day. Against this scenario, the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the umbrella body of the business community, as well as industrialists of the Sunsari-Morang corridor are willing to suffer power cuts for two days a week if Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) can guarantee power for the remaining five days. In a 10-point memorandum submitted to the NEA the other day, the entrepreneurs have demanded an immediate release of a fixed load-shedding schedule and a promptsolution to the tripping problem, among others.

The industrialists of Province 1 are said to be losing billions of rupees a day due to the power cuts, not to mention the damage to the machinery caused by the fluctuating voltage. There is not much the NEA can do at the moment. How long the power shortage will last will depend on how soon the snow on theHimalayas melts to increase water flow in the rivers, which could be at least a fortnight from now. Although the big industries are suffering, the country's households and small industries have not seen any power cuts so far, although power supply is erratic at times.

For the industrialists, power from diesel generators might have been an alternative as in the past. But due to the war in Ukraine, the price of oil has more than doubled in the last few weeks, which makes it very expensive for industrialists to switch to. During this critical period, power from the thermal power plants that burn bagasse from the sugar mills could have provided some relief. Unfortunately, many sugar mills have shut down in the past few years after failing to pay the sugarcane farmers. Power outages during the dry season have been a perennial problem, and the only solution is to go for an energy mix or to build peaking or reservoir-type hydropower plants.

Unfortunately, all of the hydropower plants being built in the private sector are run-of-the river type, which are less expensive to build than the peaking power plants. Energy from solar panels has also shown to be feasible in Nepal. It would be wise to consider all the options available so as not to be too dependent on India, which will be facing many energy upheavals in the future as it strives to become a world economic powerhouse.

Impractical decision

cabinet meeting held on Wednesday decided to A run government offices from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm from Monday to Friday, marking Saturday and Sunday as weekly holidays. This decision will come into force from May 15, two days after the local level elections.

All educational institutions will also be closed for two days a week, leaving millions of children idle at home for two days a week.

This decision was taken to save fuel worth Rs 20 million a week. However, the government has already permitted the import of non-essential goods such as nuts, beans and black pepper worth around Rs 15 billion. The government did not take into account its impact on educational sector, which had suffered the most due to its closure for several months when the country was affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to run schools from 9:30 till 4:30 will cause great inconvenience to the children, especially in the rural areas, where they hardly have snacks and must walk for hours to and from their schools. Educationists say the decision was taken to shut down schools for two days, keeping in mind the private schools in the cities which operate buses to carry the students. The government should roll back its impractical decision.

A version of this article appears in the print on April 29, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.