Failure to plug system loss causes NEA huge loss

KATHMANDU, Aug 20:

Loss of energy during transmission and distribution has remained more or less stable over the past four years.

In the four-year period, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) managed to bring down energy loss by mere 0.77 percentage points. NEA's energy loss currently stands at 24.44 percent of total energy in its grid. It shows NEA's efforts to reduce energy loss are not becoming effective.

Though technical loss is inevitable, many NEA officials agree that such loss can be reduced to around 18 percent. By bringing down technical loss to around 18 percent, NEA can save around Rs 2.62 billion annually. NEA, which reported net loss of Rs 6.46 billion in the last fiscal year, could have saved Rs 9.81 billion over the past four years by reducing technical loss to 18 percent.

While proposing tariff hike plan to Electricity Tariff Fixation Commission in 2011/12, NEA had expressed commitment to reduce system loss by one percentage point annually. But NEA has failed to keep it words.

Energy theft account for about 8 to 9 percentage points of total system loss, according to NEA officials. Though NEA has a separate division to control system loss, the division has not been able to work effectively. Similarly, NEA also has launched Supply Side Energy Efficiency Improvement Program as part of Energy Access and Efficiency Improvement Project funded by Asian Development Bank to improve supply side efficiency. The program, which started in 2009, is ending in mid-2016. The outcomes of the program have not been made public yet.

Officials of Loss Control Division under NEA claimed say they have been working hard to bring down system loss.""Our managing director himself monitored the process of downloading data from Time of Day (ToD) meters recently. We have recovered 2.2 million units of electricity by monitoring 482 ToDs"" Sachchidanand Yadav, manager of the division, told Republica.

There are inherent problems in ToD to confirm that the consumption pattern of electricity is verified. ToDs are placed at commercial users of electricity particularly at industries and factories that have electricity connection 25 KVA and above.

Kafle had recently visited Biratnagar, Birgunj and Janakpur oversee verification of consumption pattern of electricity.

Yadav also claimed that they were continuing programs to combat electricity theft.

According to officials, loss in distribution constitutes around 16.81 percentage points in total system loss.

Ram Chandra Pandey, deputy managing director of Distribution and Consumer Services at NEA, argues that most of the rural areas are prone to unavoidable technical loss.""It is difficult to bring down system loss"" he said, adding,""High demand during peak hours and low in off-peak hours in rural areas causes significant energy loss. This is different from demand pattern of urban users""

NEA has to compromise on technical rules while building transmission lines and distribution system which also increases system loss.""An 11 KV transmission line, for example, is feasible for extension up to 15 kilometers. But it is extended up to 35 or 40 kilometers. Also, low voltage lines are extended without considering technical aspects"" Pandey said, adding it causes huge technical loss.

Source: Republica