On March 19, in Nepal, Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Minister Deepak Khadka stated that the country would face electricity shortages during the evenings. While speaking at the National Assembly on Wednesday, he admitted that the government could not avoid rolling blackouts anymore.
"At present, Nepal imports 830 MW of electricity from India, whereas local generation stands at approximately 1,000 MW. Considering the current demand, power outages in homes during the evenings are unavoidable," Khadka stated.
Even though previous attempts to eliminate power outages involved importing electricity from India, Minister Khadka acknowledged that the current state of affairs is untenable. He refuted assertions attributing the reduction of load shedding solely to NEA’s Managing Director Kulman Ghishing, giving credit instead to private sector contributions and increased imports from India.
The perception that load shedding had ended was because of imported electricity and contributions from the private sector. Kulman Ghishing is not the protagonist behind a more illuminated Nepal," he stated, further noting, "We ought to be grateful instead to India and the private sector for their roles.
Minister Khadka accused Ghising of misleading the public by prioritizing household electricity supply while cutting power to industries.
He also disclosed that the government-run NEA presently generates just 700 MW of electricity, whereas the private sector contributes 2,800 MW. Despite this collective output, power deficits continue to be an issue.
Despite receiving full government funding, the NEA produces merely 700 MW. In contrast, private providers add 2,800 MW, but the overall electricity supply still falls short. Power outages have occurred in the past and persist to this day,” stated Khadka.
He similarly dismissed assertions that the NEA is turning a profit, arguing that these claims can be deceptive.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with authorization from Republica.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. Syndigate.info ).
Post a Comment