Kathmandu, January 4:

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has decided to increase the weekly load-shedding hours with effect from today. The increase would be upto 15 hours from the present 12 hours in parts of the country.

“There will be 15 hours of power cut in a week for all consumers living between Lahan and Lamahi,” said Sher Singh Bhatt of the Power Dispatch Division of NEA.

He said the consumers were divided into seven groups and each would have only one day without a power cut weekly, adding a detailed shedule would be published on Saturday.

One group, for example, would have no electricity between 5.00 to 7.30 am on the first day, 7.00 to 9.30 am on the second day, 4.00 to 7.00 pm on the third day, 5.00 to 7.30 pm on the fourth day, 6.00 to 8.30 pm on the fifth day and 7.30 to 9.30 on the sixth day.

This schedule would be followed until January 14 after which the hours could be increased if Nepal fails to bring import electricity from India — the government plans to import more electricity starting mid-January.

“Otherwise, we will have to cut more power, to strike a balance between the power demand

and what we can supply with the existing power generating plants,” he said.

Presently the NEA is facing a power deficit of 80 MW of electricity. On January 5 last year, representatives of NEA and the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) of India had signed a memorandum of understanding to construct a 220 KV transmission line to trade electricity across the border.