NEA provides alternative electricity line at CPN UML office

KATHMANDU, Aug 24:

At a time when applications for alternative electricity arrangements for more than 350 industries are gathering dust, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has decided to provide alternative electricity lines to central office of national-level political parties.

NEA has already decided to provide alternative electricity supply to the newly established central office CPN-UML at Dhumbarahi.

Due to acute shortage of electricity, industries have been forced to use diesel generators which raise their electricity cost to more than Rs 30 per unit. It is because of factors like these that competitiveness of Nepali industries is eroding.

Ramchandara Pandey, deputy managing director of Distribution and Consumer Services Directorate of NEA, said decision has been taken to provide additional electricity lines to central offices of all national-level political parties. "But such lines will be provided only if there is no other feasible alternative," Pandey said.

Such alternative facilities are provided to offices like Janak Education Materials Centre, Transport Management Office and selected public hospitals. Many private hospitals are not getting such facilities.

"All the costs for alternative electricity lines are borne by respective political parties," said Pandey.

According to Election Commission, there are 179 political parties in the country. The new decision makes all these parties eligible for alternative electricity lines as existing legal law gives equal status to political parties.

According to sources, the decision has been taken due to pressure from Minister for Energy Radha Gyawali.

Janardan Bhattarai, a workers' union leader at NEA, said political leaders will now forget that the country is facing acute shortage of energy.

Nepali Congress (NC) and UCPN (Maoist) have installed solar power system at their central offices for alternative supply. But Chief Secretary of Nepali Congress Rishi Kesh Tiwari said the alternative power supply is insufficient for even minor works. "We are holding talks with Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) to increase the capacity of our solar power system," he added.

Likewise, Hitaraj Pandey, secretary of UCPN (Maoist), said their solar power system is sufficient to light only few bulbs. "We need to run diesel generators to run photocopier and other machines," he added.

Hari Bhakta Sharma, senior vice president of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (NCI), made mockery of the decision, saying that they use resources at their disposal as per their wish. "We have been requesting political parties for the last five years to arrange dedicated feeders for industrial sector," he said, adding, "But our demands have fallen on deaf ears."

Energy Expert Amir Man Nakarmi said expensive energy is one of the reasons behind skyrocketing price of different products and services. "It is unfortunate that policymakers have not realized the importance of energy for industrial sector," he added.

Source: Republica