Khadka orders immediate collection of dues for trunk, dedicated lines

KATHMANDU: Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Minister Deepak Khadka has directed the concerned authorities to immediately collect the outstanding dues for the dedicated feeders and trunk lines.

On Wednesday, he convened a meeting at the Ministry with Energy Secretary Suresh Acharya, Chair of the Electricity Regulatory Commission Dr. Ram Prasad Dhital, and Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Hitendra Dev Shakya, where he instructed them to ensure the dues for the trunk lines and dedicated feeder lines are collected.

The issue regarding the payment for electricity supplied through these trunk and dedicated lines has been under dispute since Magh 2073 to Baishakh 2075.

The government, based on a report by a committee formed under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court Justice Girishchandra Lal, has directed the collection of the remaining dues.

The report by the Electricity Regulatory Commission recommended that the dues be collected by conducting a study based on Time of Day (TOD) meters and the use of trunk and dedicated lines.

According to the government’s decision on 2081/7/27, if the data from TOD meters is verified and accepted, industrialists have agreed to pay the dues for using the trunk and dedicated lines.

However, they have disagreed with the electricity charges calculated without taking into account the TOD meter readings.

Industrialists have insisted they will only pay if TOD meters are provided. This disagreement has persisted as the NEA has failed to provide TOD meters on time, resulting in a prolonged dispute.

Previously, Minister Khadka had also instructed former NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising to collect the outstanding dues, but the directive was not effectively implemented.