KATHMANDU, APRIL 26: The Kathmandu Valley Mayors’ Forum has appealed to Finance Minister Barshaman Pun to address the electricity dues of local governments up to the current fiscal year. Three months ago, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) issued a circular along with electricity bills to local authorities to settle their outstanding dues.
A delegation led by Chiribabu Maharjan, President of the Kathmandu Valley Mayors’ Forum and Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City, met with Finance Minister Pun on Thursday to discuss this matter. President Maharjan emphasized the need to settle the electricity dues for the current fiscal year and proposed a ’60/40 arrangement’ for the upcoming fiscal year, where the local government bears 60% of the electricity charges and the NEA bears 40%.
The local governments and the Mayors’ Forum of the Kathmandu Valley have been protesting against the NEA’s circular, which requested payment of electricity tariffs dating back to 2074 BS. The delegation expressed dissatisfaction with the inaccuracies in the billing amounts and criticized the NEA for disappointing the elected representatives involved in efforts to make the Kathmandu Valley bright and safe in the nighttime.
Ghanshyam Giri, Mayor of Chandragiri Municipality and General Secretary of the Forum, stated their readiness to pay the electricity tariffs from the next fiscal year. Previously, the Forum delegation had urged Energy Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet to reconsider the electricity tariff amounts for local governments.
Finance Minister Pun assured the Forum that discussions would be held regarding their demands. He committed to addressing legal issues and amending laws related to settling electricity dues. Additionally, he directed the NEA not to disconnect power supplies to local governments.
