KATHMANDU, JUNE 10

Lawmakers drew the attention of the government towards the delay in the ongoing construction of national transmission lines and their substations across the country.

Due to delay in construction of transmission lines, challenges have surfaced in achieving the government's objective to provide electricity access to all the households in the country within two years, they pointed out.

They also urged the government to focus on the construction, expansion and distribution of transmission lines and development of electrical infrastructures on time.

They said this at a discussion on the topics related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Home under the Appropriation Bill in the budget session of the House of Representatives today.

On the occasion, Nawaraj Raut complained about unreliable electricity supply despite 44.9 per cent houses in Karnali Province having electricity access. Due to low voltage, it has been difficult to use electric appliances and operate small industries.

The former minister, who led the electrification campaign, is from Karnali. But where is reliable power supply?, he asked.

He drew the government's attention towards delay in the construction of the 132 kV Kohalpur-Surkhet transmission line and demanded its early completion.

Similarly, Gajendra Bahadur Mahat complained that contractors delayed the national transmission line in the province while Man Bahadur Bishwokarma demanded free 150 units of electricity to the people each month to replace LP gas with electric cook-top.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 11, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.