Energy Minister’s decisions fuel power supply issues, Ghising assures no load shedding

KATHMANDU: According to his primary responsibility, Energy Minister Deepak Khadka should have focused on preventing power outages and reassuring the public.

However, his recent decisions have caused problems in the electricity supply.

He has been spreading misleading information about widespread load shedding by denying Nepal Electricity Authority permission to import necessary electricity.

Due to winter, the water level in rivers decreases, resulting in reduced domestic hydroelectric production. In such circumstances, the shortfall in energy has traditionally been managed by importing electricity from India. However, since Chait 3, India has suspended electricity supply during the night, as per prior approval.

In response, the Nepal Electricity Authority adopted a strategy of importing more electricity during the day, while storing water in reservoir-based plants for nighttime electricity generation.

This strategy has ensured a steady electricity supply for industries, though some large industries have experienced power cuts. However, residential consumers have not faced load shedding.

Minister Khadka has been attempting to blame the Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, Kulman Ghising, for the situation, alleging that his actions have disrupted the implementation of the Power Exchange Committee (PEC) agreement.

On 4 Mangsir, India was informed that it would no longer allow electricity purchases from the open market during the night. As an alternative, the PEC had planned to ensure electricity supply through imports from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, potentially importing 300 MW of power.

At the PEC meeting on March 30, a decision was made to increase electricity tariffs by 1.5%, compared to previous hikes of up to 8%.

However, the authority needs to get approval from the Board of Directors and the Electricity Regulatory Commission before implementing this decision. Before the decision could be executed, Kulman Ghising was questioned about the issue.

In 077, the Council of Ministers granted the Executive Director the authority to make necessary decisions in the PEC meeting, but any decision had to be approved by the authority’s board and the commission.

Nevertheless, Minister Khadka has raised questions about Ghising’s responsibility for the decision made on Magh 30, even though Ministry Undersecretary Sanjiv Rai and the First Secretary at the Nepali Embassy in Delhi, Vijayraj Tandukar, also attended the meeting.

In a joint energy secretary-level meeting held in Delhi on Fagun 29, this issue was discussed. However, Minister Khadka’s retaliation by seeking clarification led to the suspension of the 300 MW electricity import from India.

This agreement was set to be implemented on April 1. The Authority’s Board had already approved it, but Minister Khadka reportedly refused to sign it, leading to the suspension of power supply as per the earlier PEC agreement, further exacerbating electricity issues for industries.

What Does Kulman Say?

Executive Director Kulman Ghising reassured that there would be no load shedding under any circumstances. “We have maximized electricity imports from India during the day. We have stored water in the semi-reservoir and reservoir-based projects during the day. When electricity from India is not available at night, we have been generating power from those projects,” he said. “There will be no load shedding for households under any circumstances. However, in the nighttime, industrial areas may face power cuts. At that time, we will cut off the lines of industries with outstanding dues on dedicated feeders and trunklines.”