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The bench of the Electricity Regulatory Commission has ruled that Panchakanya Steels and Panchakanya Plastic Industries, which were involved in a dispute over dedicated and trunk line electricity tariffs, must pay their outstanding dues to the Nepal Electricity Authority.

The commission’s bench made this decision on Sunday while hearing the petition filed by the two industries, which claimed they had been treated unfairly. The bench concluded that their claims were not justified.

These two industries, operating under the Panchakanya Group, had filed a complaint with the commission on Kartik 20. They argued that the decision of the Nepal Electricity Authority to collect outstanding electricity tariffs from consumers who received power through dedicated feeders and trunk lines was unjust. They had demanded the cancellation of that decision and also sought compensation.

After hearing arguments from both the Nepal Electricity Authority and the industrialists on Sunday, the commission ruled that the industries’ claims were not valid. According to the commission’s chairman, Dr. Ram Prasad Dhital, the decision was reached after studying various government decisions from different periods as well as technical facts.

He said that after listening to both sides and reviewing factors such as the industries’ electricity consumption patterns, usage during the load-shedding period, times when the lines were disconnected, and various government decisions, the bench concluded that the claims were not justified.

With the commission’s final decision, the Nepal Electricity Authority now has the legal pathway to recover the dues from the industries. However, if the industrialists are dissatisfied with the ruling, they can still appeal in court.

The two industries under Panchakanya Group had filed the complaint with the commission after depositing five percent of the disputed amount as security. The authority had also cut their electricity supply earlier due to unpaid dues.

According to the Nepal Electricity Authority, Panchakanya Steels still has an outstanding amount of NPR 5,032,956 to pay. The industry’s electricity line had been cut on Kartik 4, but it was reconnected after it paid NPR 146,000 in installments.

Similarly, Panchakanya Plastic still has NPR 2,375,000 left to pay to the authority. The commission has said that the full text of the verdict will be released in a few days.