Middle-Ground Solution for Dedicated trunk line dispute: 56 installments and 5% deposit for court appeals

KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 31: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) will offer additional payment options for industries to clear outstanding bills on their dedicated trunk lines. Through the initiative of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Minister Deepak Khadka, the Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved a 56-installment plan to help industries manage these payments.

Minister Khadka explained that this solution came about after discussions with officials from the Electricity Regulatory Commission. Previously, the NEA only allowed 28 installments. He added that the deposit requirement for entering the administrative review process has also been lowered to 5%, which can be submitted as a bank guarantee.

The NEA’s policy requires industries with disputes over electricity tariffs to first use its administrative process. Previously, a 25% deposit had to be submitted in cash, but this has been reduced.

Under the new scheme, electricity can be reconnected after paying the first instalment. The NEA had cut off the lines of 34 industries not paying their dues, but on Wednesday (October 29), 13 of those industries paying their first instalment were reconnected. 

The NEA Board of Directors initially introduced a premium fee structure in June 2015, distinguishing between feeders with and without load-shedding. Dedicated feeders were promised a continuous 24-hour power supply.

Disputes over electricity tariffs have caused ongoing tension between the NEA and industries, but Minister Khadka stated that this decision was aimed at resolving conflicts to create a better business environment.

The commission has also requested the NEA to promptly reconnect any lines once an initial payment is made, even if they were disconnected previously for unpaid dues. This approach paves the way to address issues that have persisted since 2015, ensuring both continued industrial operations and recovery of fees by the NEA.

Minister Khadka commented, “Leaving the problem unsolved isn’t an option, and shutting down industries doesn’t help either. As such, this middle path is developed which also allows dissatisfied industries to take their cases to court.”