Kathmandu, February 16

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said that it was able to reduce electricity leakage in its distribution system by 1.50 percentage points in the six months of ongoing fiscal year to 9.78 per cent.

NEA had earlier set a target to reduce electricity leakage from 11.28 per cent to 8.50 per cent of the total electricity supply in the current fiscal.

According to NEA, the 9.78 per cent electricity leakage figure is the lowest in NEA’s history.

The overall leakage in the NEA system had been brought down to 15.32 per cent from 25.78 per cent in last fiscal year. The power utility plans to decrease the overall loss to below 13 per cent in the ongoing fiscal year.

Kul Man Ghising, managing director of NEA, said the power utility earned additional Rs 10 billion with the reduction in the power leakage in its distribution system.

“We aim to reduce the electricity leakage to an average of five per cent in the overall NEA system within the next few years, at par with the average electricity leakage in the Europe region. However, we will try to lower the leakage even further if possible,” said Ghising.

At present, NEA loses 4.04 per cent of electricity through leakage in its transmission system and 9.78 per cent through its distribution system.

Since Ghising was appointed to the top post of the country’s only power utility company, NEA has started taking strict action against electricity theft and has become more stringent in collecting dues.

Moreover, NEA has installed high-capacity transformers, and upgraded the transmission and distribution system and substations to reduce electricity leakage.

In fiscal 2017-18, NEA was able to earn net profit of Rs one billion.

NEA had forecast it would earn net profit of Rs 10 billion in this fiscal, a target already met in the first half.

Last fiscal, NEA had earned operating profit worth Rs 10 billion.

Ghising said that it was possible to reduce the power leakage and earn profit due to the regular power supply by eliminating load-shedding, reduction in the average price of imported and domestic electricity, minimising administrative, technical and non-technical expenses and implementing financial reform measures.

“We have controlled electricity thefts, including hooking; tightened dues collection, enhanced the capacity of substations for distribution and promotion of three phase metres,” he said, explaining the recent achievements. “However, we need to carry out others reforms to make the institution more competitive and modernised.”

According to Hararaj Neupane, deputy managing director of NEA, the power utility has spent Rs 500 million to reduce the leakage through awareness programmes.

“We have to launch massive awareness programmes to achieve our goals.”

Earlier, NEA had signed a performance contract with the chiefs of all provincial offices and its line agencies to reduce electricity leakage.

The power utility had set some basic criteria to reduce its overall loss like leakage control, reducing administrative expenses, settling outstanding dues and increasing number of consumers, which have been included in the contracts.