Kathmandu, January 10
The power supply to the industries across country has been disrupted as a power plant in India has halted exporting electricity to Nepal due to technical glitch.
According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Spokesperson Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai, industries have been facing power cuts recently as the power plant in Bihar is unable to export power due to ongoing repair works.
"There is technical problem in generator of the thermal power plant in Bihar from where we were purchasing the power. Therefore, we have informed the industrialists that NEA will be cutting off the power to the industries during the peak hours in the mornings and evenings," Bhattarai said.
As the power generation from the run-of-river-based powerhouses is reduced along with the drop in the water levels of the rivers during the dry season, the Nepal Electricity Authority started importing power from India in the first week of December.
According to the Nepal Electricity Authority, out of the daily domestic demand of around 1,680 MW, Nepal had been importing 4,000 MWh of power at competitive rate in the Indian energy market on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, industries have been affected with the power cuts, wherein they have been facing up to nine hours of electricity outage.
Pashupati Murarka, the former president of Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, informed that the industrial areas are having to bear up to nine hours of loading-shedding at present.
"How can the industries sustain if this continues?" Murarka said.
NEA Spokesperson Bhattarai said the Indian counterpart has said that it could take up to three days to repair the generator.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
