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Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha has intensified consultations with stakeholders in Koshi Province to improve the reliability and efficiency of electricity supply and increase power consumption in the province. During his visit to Koshi, Minister Shrestha held discussions with elected representatives and officials and employees of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to learn about problems in electricity supply, public complaints, employees’ concerns and opportunities to increase electricity consumption.

Speaking at an interaction on the current status, achievements and future direction of electricity distribution in the province, Minister Shrestha urged NEA employees to work harder to ensure regular, quality and reliable electricity services to citizens.

According to a press statement of Minister Shrestha's secretariat, he directed the authorities to establish a system for promptly resolving supply problems and addressing public complaints. He said that timely information dissemination and swift responses to complaints would help build public trust and improve people’s perception of the authority’s services.

The minister also called on provincial offices to effectively advance creative plans proposed by distribution centres based on local needs. He said that the quality of services received by citizens, rather than the volume of infrastructure constructed or budget spent, should be the key measure of performance. “Whatever work we do, ultimately, people will judge us on whether they received regular and reliable electricity,” he said.

Minister Shrestha said the government had allocated sufficient funds for improving transmission and distribution systems in the current fiscal year and directed officials to prepare clear implementation plans from the beginning of the fiscal year rather than waiting until its end. He also stressed the need to increase domestic electricity consumption alongside generation.

As Koshi is an important province for industrial and commercial activities, he called for special programmes to promote electricity use in industries, businesses and other sectors. He praised progress in controlling electricity leakage in the province and urged greater coordination with elected representatives and local governments to address transmission and distribution-related problems.

Ministry Secretary Sarita Dawadi said that targeted improvements in the distribution system could significantly improve the sustainability and quality of electricity services. NEA Acting Managing Director Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha said the authority needed to raise its performance further as public expectations were increasing.

On the occasion, Kamal Acharya, chief of the NEA’s Koshi Provincial Office, said that electricity is being supplied to more than 1.137 million customers through 24 distribution branches in all 14 districts of the province. He said that the electricity system is being operated through major transmission corridors, including the Kabeli Corridor, Koshi Corridor, and Duhabi-Pandajungi-Anaramani Corridor.

According to Acharya, in the last fiscal year, Koshi Province generated an income of Rs. 19.21 billion from the sale of 2,048.41 gigawatt hours of electricity. Electricity leakage has declined to 11.21 per cent, Acharya said. Three important substations are under construction in the province, while a pole-mounted substation has been completed in Letang of Morang, he added.

During the interaction, lawmakers representing Morang and Sunsari, including Dipak Sah, Sirjana Shrestha and Rubina Acharya, urged the NEA to address local supply and infrastructure problems promptly and ensure accessible, regular and reliable electricity services.

Meanwhile, Minister Shrestha inspected the embankment area along the Sunsari River at Bhokraha Narsingh Rural Municipality-4, Sunsari, and stressed the need for an integrated approach to flood control, river management and irrigation development.

Following the inspection, he directed officials to identify and implement immediate measures to reduce flood risks from the Sunsari River and expand irrigation facilities. He also pointed out the vulnerability of the strategically important Bhokraha substation to flooding and directed the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation to immediately assess possible damage mitigation measures using available resources.

The meeting discussed updating and implementing the Sunsari River Irrigation Project based on an earlier study conducted with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) between 2003 and 2005. The study had proposed various options for irrigation development and flood control in Sunsari district.

According to the study, the Sunsari River Irrigation Project could be implemented as a short- and medium-term intervention targeting a period of around 25 to 30 years.

The project is expected to expand irrigation facilities while also contributing to river management and flood-risk reduction. As a long-term option, the study had proposed constructing a weir or barrage in the Chatara area of the Koshi River.

According to Minister Shrestha's secretariat, participants said the proposal should be considered as a long-term river management strategy rather than an immediate solution, given its large investment requirements. The meeting also stressed the need to review the nearly two-decade-old JICA study in light of current river conditions, settlement expansion, climate-related risks and growing irrigation needs.