Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) on Wednesday wrote to the authorities concerned to take necessary actions against the defaulting industrialists despite the government’s instruction not to disconnect electricity supplies to the industries.

As the deadline given to the defaulting industries to settle their arrears for using dedicated feeder and trunk lines ended on Wednesday, the NEA was preparing to cut the electricity supply lines to those industries. However, the government intervened in the matter and barred the NEA from taking action against the defaulting industrialists.

The NEA in response sent letters to a number of government regulatory bodies on Wednesday to take action against the defaulters in other ways. According to an NEA official, the power-utility wrote to Nepal Rastra Bank to freeze the bank accounts of the defaulters. Similarly, the NEA also sent letters to the Office of the Company Registrar and the Securities Board of Nepal, requesting them to suspend procedures of share-related transactions of the companies concerned, until they clear their dues to the NEA.

Issuing a notice on November 14, the Council of Ministers and the NEA Board of Directors asked the industries to submit their dues within 15 days. The NEA had warned to disconnect electricity lines to 34 defaulting industries if they failed to clear the dues within the given deadline.

The NEA had to step back from its decision after the government through the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) compelled the power-utility to not take such a harsh measure against the industries that have long been refusing to pay the bills of facilities that they utilized during the load shedding period. Sending a letter to the NEA, the ERC mentioned that it is the ‘duty’ of the NEA to implement the report on ‘Dedicated’ and ‘Trunk Line’ prepared by the commission chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Girish Chandra Lal.

Stating that the technical committee is currently working to determine the outstanding dues, the ERC has directed the NEA not to cut electricity lines until the committee completes its task.

In addition, Energy Minister Deepak Khadka through a board meeting of NEA also endorsed the decision on not disconnecting the electricity lines to the defaulting industries.

Source: Republica