The Nepal Electricity Authority has extended the term of the Administrative Review Committee formed to reassess the outstanding dues for trunk and dedicated lines.

The Nepal Electricity Authority has stated that its board of directors, in a meeting held on Wednesday, decided to extend the term of the review committee by 35 days.

Managing Director Hitendra Dev Shakya informed that the extension was granted after the committee’s initial term expired. He mentioned that the committee aims to resolve the long-standing dispute regarding outstanding dues on dedicated trunk lines.

Shyam Kishor Yadav, a member of the Authority’s board of directors, is the coordinator of the committee. The committee led by Yadav is tasked with reviewing the dispute related to the recovery of dues for trunk and dedicated lines, which has been a topic of discussion since the year 2022.

However, the committee has not yet submitted any concrete decision or report. Energy Minister Deepak Khadka formed the committee last April.

Before that, the coordinator of the committee was Suresh Acharya, the Secretary of the Ministry of Energy. After controversy arose regarding Acharya’s leadership, Minister Khadka appointed Yadav as the new coordinator. The committee has yet to be fully formed.

In response to the Nepal Electricity Authority’s call to participate in the review process of dues related to dedicated and trunk lines, 46 industries have submitted applications.

A total of 46 industries and companies have submitted applications to review the premium dues for electricity used through dedicated feeders and trunk lines during the load-shedding period.

However, no process has been initiated yet. These 46 industries, which still have outstanding dues, have applied to the Authority for a review of their dues from January 2016 to April 2018 by depositing either cash or a bank guarantee equivalent to 5 percent of the owed amount.

Source: Ratopati