- The agreement to sell 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh is indeed historic.

- We couldn’t make progress because the issue of dedicated and trunk lines reached the Public Accounts Committee; nothing has happened. We are waiting for the committee’s decision and direction.”- Deepak Khadka, Energy Minister

While the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) was cutting off the power lines of five industries due to disputes over outstanding payments related to dedicated and trunk lines, Deepak Khadka assumed the responsibility of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation. As the NEA continued to cut off electricity to recover dues since 9 July , on 15 July, Energy Minister Khadka, upon taking charge of the ministry, expressed his commitment to resolving the issues related to dedicated and trunk lines.

Immediately on 16 July, Energy Minister Khadka held separate briefings with Kulman Ghising, the Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), and the industrialists. On 17 july, he again held joint discussions with the leadership of the NEA and the industrialists. However, as both the NEA and the industrialists remained firm in their respective positions, it was stated that a representative-level discussion between the industrialists and the NEA would take place on 18 july. But the discussion between the representatives of the industrialists and the NEA could not happen.

On 19 July, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli summoned the industrialists and NEA Executive Director Ghising for a discussion. During the discussion, Prime Minister Oli gave verbal instructions to immediately reconnect the power lines to the disconnected industries. However, NEA Executive Director Ghising insisted that a decision had to be made by the NEA’s Board of Directors and requested a written order, refusing to reconnect the lines without it.

Immediately afterward, the Electricity Regulatory Commission issued a letter to the NEA, instructing it to reconnect the power based on Sub-sections 1 and 10 of Section 13 of the Consumer Protection Guidelines, 2023. Based on the Commission’s written directive, the NEA Board of Directors decided on 23 July to reconnect the power temporarily, with the condition that if the dues were not paid within three months, further action would be taken.

On 30 July , Khadka issued a written explanation request to Bhakta Bahadur Pun and Kapil Acharya, members of the NEA Board of Directors, who were in favor of not reconnecting the electricity without payment of the dues. On the same day they submitted their explanations, 2 August , the ministry removed Acharya and Pun from the NEA Board, and Khadka made a ministerial decision to appoint former Secretary Devendra Karki and former Joint Secretary Mahendra Bahadur Gurung as members.

On 7 August , Acharya and Pun filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, and on 8 August 9, Justice Sunil Kumar Pokharel’s bench issued a show-cause order along with an interim order against the government. Justice Pokharel’s interim order instructed that Minister Khadka’s decision should not be implemented, allowing Acharya and Pun to return to their roles as board members. Subsequently, the dispute over the dues related to dedicated and trunk lines was brought up in a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee under the House of Representatives. The committee instructed the NEA to present all details of the Time of Day (TOD) meters used by industrial establishments with dedicated and trunk line connections. The NEA has submitted 30 packages of documents, including information on the TOD. However, the committee has not yet made a decision on the matter.

On 9 October , Energy Minister Khadka requested a 15-point report from NEA Executive Director Ghising. “The ministry does not have details of the progress made by the NEA so far, which is why we requested the information,” said Minister Khadka. However, Ghising has not yet submitted the report. Meanwhile, the three-month period given when reconnecting electricity to the industries is set to end this coming Thursday. It appears that Minister Khadka is working to resolve the dispute without disconnecting the electricity to the industries.

Although Energy Minister Khadka, who has been working to resolve the dedicated and trunk line dues dispute, has completed a hundred days in office, the dispute remains unresolved. Minister Khadka indicated that he has been unable to make progress because the issue of dedicated and trunk lines has been brought before the Public Accounts Committee. “We couldn’t make progress since the matter of dedicated and trunk lines reached the Public Accounts Committee, but it’s okay,” he said. “We are waiting for the committee’s decision and direction, and we are discussing how the dues can be collected.”

While much of the time was spent dealing with internal conflicts with the NEA, a historic agreement was made in the field of electricity trade. After six years of groundwork, on 4 October , an agreement was reached between Nepal, India, and Bangladesh to sell 40 megawatts of electricity. Nepal will receive 6.40 cents per unit from Bangladesh for the electricity sold. However, the sale has not yet begun as some technical processes with India remain pending. Previously, electricity was sold in Indian Rupees, but now it will be sold in US dollars.

On 13 September , Prime Minister Oli and Energy Minister Khadka signed a performance agreement. According to this agreement, Khadka stated that 98.5 percent of the work has been completed. “According to the agreement with the Prime Minister, there has been 98.5 percent progress. If there hadn’t been floods and landslides in Ashoj, we would have made even more progress,” he said. Energy Minister Khadka noted that efforts have been made to advance incomplete projects like Pancheshwar and Budhigandaki, as well as to resume work on stalled transmission lines for projects such as Rasuwagadhi and Madhyabhotekoshi.

Former Energy Minister Shakti Basnet presented the “Energy Development Roadmap and Action Plan 2080” to the Cabinet, aiming to generate 28,500 megawatts of electricity in the next 10 years. Minister Khadka mentioned that the roadmap, which was returned by the Cabinet, has been further worked on and sent back for approval. “The Electricity Act and the Alternative Energy Act were under discussion in the Infrastructure Development Committee of the Parliament, and they are also being prepared to be sent to Parliament,” he said.

The continuous rainfall that occurred last October caused damage to 11 operational projects and 15 under-construction projects. He mentioned that construction on the affected projects had already begun.

Source: kantipur