NEA presser: Kulman Ghising defends legal basis for power disconnections

Kathmandu, November 13 — Kulman Ghising, Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), addressed a press conference on Wednesday, defending all decisions made regarding the charges for dedicated and trunk lines, asserting that they were in line with the law. He emphasized that the NEA had cut power to industries that failed to pay their bills in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations.

Ghising stated, “The authority has not deviated even an inch from the law and regulations. However, it is our duty to implement the Cabinet’s decision to restore the lines.” His tone and demeanor at the press conference suggested he was not entirely pleased with the Cabinet's decision to reconnect the lines.

While Ghising was speaking, the NEA was in the process of restoring power to the industries that had been disconnected. The Cabinet meeting held on Sunday had decided to reconnect the lines within 24 hours for industries that had been cut off for non-payment of fees for dedicated and trunk lines. The Cabinet also decided that arrears would be collected within 15 days based on Time of Day (TOD) meters.

To clarify the decision further, Energy Minister Deepak Khadka called a meeting of the NEA board on Monday afternoon. However, the meeting was delayed by an hour and, with only four out of eight board members present, it could not proceed formally. In the informal meeting, Ghising reiterated his position that power should only be restored after the first installment of the arrears is paid.

As the quorum was not met, Energy Minister Khadka called another meeting on Tuesday at 11:30 AM. Again, the members did not show up on time, prompting officials to contact out-of-town members and ask them to come to Kathmandu. The meeting finally took place at around 3 PM on Tuesday.

At the board meeting, Energy Minister Khadka and Ghising presented differing views. According to one board member, the minister questioned Ghising about why the Cabinet’s decision had not been implemented within the 48 hours as stipulated. Ghising explained that the decision had only reached the office after 24 hours and he had acted accordingly. Ghising further stated, “The Cabinet has decided to restore the lines. As per the government’s decision, we will implement it. However, I will not allow any discrepancies in collecting the fees for dedicated and trunk lines.”

Ghising also challenged the minister, saying, “If the government doesn’t want the fees to be collected, then let the regulatory body, Ministry of Energy, or the Cabinet make that decision, and we will follow it.”

After Ghising’s challenge, the Energy Minister, clearly irritated, reiterated that the fees would be collected according to the TOD meter system. Other board members also spoke, and the board ultimately decided to restore the lines. As a result, the NEA began reconnecting power to the industries around 11 PM on Tuesday night.

Before the Cabinet decision, the issue had almost been resolved. According to NEA data, 339 industries had been using dedicated and trunk lines during load shedding, and most of them had already paid their bills. After repeated warnings, the NEA had disconnected power to 34 industries on October 24 for non-payment. Two of those industries fully paid their dues, while four began paying in installments, and the NEA restored their power.

Ghising pointed out, "If the bills sent by the NEA were incorrect, why did so many industries still pay their dues?"