From Saturday, March 15, Nepal Electricity Authority has been facing difficulties in managing electricity supply in industrial areas.

The Nepal Electricity Authority has been facing difficulties in electricity management as electricity imports from India have been limited to between 6 AM and 6 PM. As a result, complaints have started to arise about at least 12 hours of daily load-shedding in industrial areas.

When India’s Central Electricity Authority granted Nepal permission to import electricity on November 19, it had already specified that from March 15 onwards, electricity would only be supplied during “sun hours” (from 6 AM to 6 PM).

As per that approval, since Saturday, electricity has been imported from India only from 6 AM to 6 PM. Until last Friday, Nepal was importing electricity for up to 20 hours a day, except for four hours during peak hours.

Although electricity imports from India have been limited to 12 hours per day since last Saturday, the Nepal Electricity Authority has stated that there will be no load-shedding for household consumers. According to the authority, even though Nepal is unable to import electricity for 20 hours a day, there will be no power cuts. However, it has acknowledged that industries may face some difficulties during nighttime hours.

Even when Nepal was importing electricity for up to 20 hours from India, industrialists had been complaining about up to 8 hours of unannounced load-shedding. An industrialist stated that since last Saturday, the Nepal Electricity Authority has informed them that load-shedding could last up to 12 hours.

According to a cement industrialist, this issue has had a significant impact, especially on high-power-consuming industries such as steel and cement. He mentioned that while load-shedding had already been occurring for up to 8 hours in the past, they have now received information that it will increase even further.

According to him, the kiln in a cement factory cannot be shut down and must run continuously for 24 hours. In such a situation, power cuts have created a risk of significant losses for the industry, he complained.

Meanwhile, Nepal Electricity Authority’s Managing Director, Kulman Ghising, has claimed that there will be no load-shedding despite the reduction in electricity imports from India to just 12 hours. He stated that the authority is taking all necessary measures to prevent power cuts. Ghising assured that there will be no load-shedding for household consumers under any circumstances. He also mentioned that the authority is managing electricity supply by utilizing all domestically produced electricity during the hours when imports from India are unavailable.

Similarly, Nepal Electricity Authority spokesperson Chandan Ghosh stated that despite importing electricity from India only during the daytime, there have not been significant supply issues. He explained that the electricity demand during the day is around 1,400 MW, and since the supply capacity has been maintained at the same level, there are no major problems.

“We are also increasing electricity production. The water flow in rivers has risen, and we are currently utilizing electricity from reservoir-based projects as well,” he said.

According to spokesperson Ghosh, there has been no load-shedding because all industries do not use electricity during the nighttime. He argued that while a few industries may face issues, it is not appropriate to group all industries together in this regard.

Load management by disconnecting the lines of industries that have not paid their outstanding dues.

The Nepal Electricity Authority, which has planned to avoid load-shedding for household consumers, is preparing to implement power cuts by prioritizing industries that have not paid their outstanding dues for load management.

After electricity imports from India were reduced to just 12 hours, the Nepal Electricity Authority has started utilizing electricity from reservoir-based projects to prevent load-shedding across the country. Spokesperson Ghosh stated that load management has been carried out by using reservoir projects that were not being utilized during electricity imports from India. He also mentioned that during the times when there is no electricity import from India, electricity from semi-reservoir projects is being used.

Spokesperson Ghosh stated that industries that do not pay their outstanding dues will face more load-shedding compared to other industries. He questioned, “Why should the authority buy expensive electricity from India and sell it at a lower price to industries that do not even respect court orders?”

The Nepal Electricity Authority imports electricity from India throughout the day and stores water in the peak-hour projects in Nepal. By running these projects fully at night, they are able to supply electricity even during the evening peak hours.

In cases where the supply is insufficient, the Nepal Electricity Authority plans to prioritize power cuts for industries that have not paid their outstanding dues for dedicated and trunk lines. However, the authority has stated that there will be no load-shedding for household consumers. The authority has also informed that it is working on efforts to import additional electricity from India.

On February 12, 2025, during the Nepal-India Electricity Exchange Committee meeting in New Delhi, Managing Director Kulman Ghising had signed an agreement to increase the price of electricity by 1.5%.

The government had also sought clarification from the Cabinet regarding the subject of the agreement. The rate agreed upon by Ghising must be approved by the Authority’s Board of Directors and the Electricity Regulatory Commission. After approval from both the Board and the Commission, the newly determined rate will only be implemented from April 2025.

However, when the government sought clarification from Ghising regarding the agreement, it has not yet been approved by the Board meeting and the Regulatory Commission.

Although the Board meeting of the Authority was held on Monday, the issue of approving the agreement with India was not even discussed. Now, with the Nepal-India electricity purchase agreement not being approved by the government, issues have arisen in electricity load management.

Source: Ratopati