KATHMANDU: The Energy Minister on Monday said the load shedding would further increase in the next month. He, however, said the nation would be free of the problem within a year. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Top Bahadur Rayamajhi presented an ambitious plan to solve the ongoing energy crisis by developing hydropower and wind power as well as by repairing existing projects and transmission lines. Rayamajhi was speaking with journalists at the Reporters' Club Nepal today. The government would expedite under-construction hydel projects, begin new ones and promote solar energy projects, he revealed. On just Sunday, the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) had increased the load shedding hours to 84 hours a week to be effective from today. Earlier, it was 77 hours a week. Meanwhile, Rayamajhi said the government began a process to procure new transformers in the wake of explosion of hundreds of transformers in past few weeks.