KATHMANDU: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has submitted a comprehensive set of documents to the Parliamentary Public Account Committee (PAC), addressing concerns about the billing for electricity supplied to industries via dedicated feeders and trunk lines during load shedding. NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising reported that they provided 100,000 pages of detailed records, including Time of Day (TOD) meter data, log books, and information on discounts given to manufacturers.
The submission, which includes 37 packets of TOD details, comes in response to criticism from industrialists who have accused the NEA of issuing bills without proper evidence. The PAC had previously directed the NEA to provide this data to clarify billing discrepancies and ensure transparency.
The NEA had imposed a 65 percent premium charge on industries using dedicated feeders and trunk lines during load shedding to manage power outages. This rule, enforced in 2015, aimed to recover costs associated with providing uninterrupted electricity. However, the NEA has faced controversy over its attempts to collect Rs 6.60 billion in dues from 61 manufacturing companies, leading to the disconnection of electricity supply for some of these firms.
The PAC has reported that the total arrears from these manufacturers amount to Rs 21.88 billion. In contrast, the Electricity Tariff Dispute Resolution Commission recommended charging only Rs 6.41 billion plus a 25 percent fine for the period from January 2016 to May 2018, arguing that the same rate should not apply post-load shedding. This discrepancy highlights ongoing disputes between the NEA and industrial users regarding fair billing practices.
