The controversial debate on eight-year old pending electricity bills of dedicated feeders and trunk line services flared up once again after the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) cut off electricity supply to 34 production plants on Thursday night on the pretext of failing to pay their arrears within the given deadline.

After the NEA disconnected electricity supply lines to dozens of production plants, industrialists on Sunday challenged the power utility to implement the report of Girish Chandra Lal-led committee and provide necessary evidence of the outstanding dues of the electricity use under dedicated feeders and trunk line services.

“If the NEA provides us the evidence, we are ready to settle all dues without asking even for installments. Else, it can file cases against us on the charge of electricity theft,” said Pashupati Murarka, an industrialist, in a press meet on Sunday.

In the latest move, the NEA on October 10 published a notice urging 49 industries to pay their arrears for the use of dedicated feeders and trunk lines from mid-January 2016 to mid-April 2018. The NEA came down to action after the industrialists ignored its deadline until October 24 to settle their dues worth over Rs 6.60 billion.

Citing power outage issues, the NEA in 2015 enforced the rule to impose additional fees on industries that consume lots of energy through the dedicated feeders and trunk lines during the period of load shedding. The NEA had charged 65 percent as premium charge for the users of dedicated feeders and trunk lines on top of the normal tariff.

Under the dedicated feeder service, a factory that needed high voltage lines was permitted to receive direct electricity from a nearby substation, while those using trunk lines were provided with regular electricity directly through two substations.

Manufacturers, however, have been denying paying the dues for the use of electricity from the dedicated feeders and trunk lines. They have blamed the NEA for slapping the premium charge of period even after the load shedding was declared officially over.

Aiming to solve the issue, the government on January 9 formed a committee under the leadership of former Supreme Court Justice Girish Chandra Lal with joint secretaries of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies as members.

The committee suggested the state-owned power utility take premium charges of electricity used during the period of February 2016 to April 2018. However, it has recommended charging a special fee based on the consumption amount recorded by the Time of the Day (TOD) meter.

Dhruba Thapa, former president of the Cement Manufacturers’ Association, Nepal, said the NEA’s move will degrade the morale of the industrialists at a time when the manufacturing sector has been struggling to maintain their existence.

“Industrialists are being victimized on NEA’s politicizing issue of the dedicator feeder and trunk lines,” he said.

Anjan Shrestha, senior vice-president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, urged the government to solve the issue as soon as possible.

Earlier, a team of industrialists met Prime Minister KP Oli and informed him about the disruption of electricity supply. According to the industrialists, PM Oli assured them to find a permanent solution to the issue.