Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Kulman Ghising has reaffirmed his resolve to recover the long-overdue payments from industries using dedicated feeder and trunk lines, despite their resistance to clear the dues to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

Ghising, a former Managing Director of the NEA, who was once dismissed after a dispute with the government over the recovery of the dues from the industries, has now assumed leadership of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation in the new government formed in the aftermath of the Gen Z protests.

Assuming his post, Ghising has made the first decision to pursue the collection of dues from the industries. According to NEA, around Rs 8 billion remains unpaid by 49 industries using the dedicated feeders and trunk lines.

When Ghising was the NEA chief, he had taken the initiative to collect the dues, which prompted the ministry to demand clarifications before ultimately removing him from his post. At that time, he had even cut power lines to some industries over the issue. The industries, however, had insisted that they were willing to pay provided the bills were issued based on Time-of-Day (ToD) meters. The dispute between Ghising and the industrialists now appears set to resurface.

The then-government had formed a commission under former Supreme Court Justice Girish Chandra Lal to resolve the billing dispute regarding dedicated feeders and trunk lines. Differences had also emerged between Ghising and the government over the implementation of the Lal Commission’s report.

Although the industrialists had expressed readiness to pay based on ToD meter readings, they alleged that the NEA was unable to provide such bills, further fueling the controversy. At one point, the NEA had written to freeze the bank accounts of 35 industries for failing to clear their dues. Ghising, however, has consistently maintained the position that the dues must be collected.

The NEA has been struggling to recover the dues of dedicated feeders and trunk lines from the industrialists since 2015. The NEA had set a premium tariff for factories using electricity through dedicated feeders and trunk lines from August that year. Citing power outage problems at that time, the NEA had decided to impose additional fees on industries that consume a high amount of energy.

Although NEA has repeatedly sent notices to the defaulting industrialists to clear the dues or face disconnection, they have been defying the authority’s notice. Instead, the industrialists have been visiting high-ranking government officials and political leaders to force NEA to take back its decision.

By Rajesh Khanal