The private sector’s umbrella organisations have asked the concerned authorities to solve the problem seen in power supply.
Issuing a joint statement, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce on Friday, they have requested the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to make public the schedule of power cuts in the industries if supplying uninterrupted electricity to the industries is not possible.
The confusion among the industrialists has been growing since the supply of electricity in the industrial areas has remained irregular.
According to them, the industries in Butwal-Bhairahawa, Bara-Parsa, Sunsari-Morang and other industrial corridors could not operate due to irregular power supply.
The private sector drew the attention of the government and concerned authorities over the problems and urged it to take steps to make the power supply smooth.
Problems such as tripping, low voltage in electricity, inability to operate the industry as per schedule, damage to tens of millions of machines when power supply is cut off, wages of workers when industry is not operational, wages in case of production cuts, high bank interest, are the major problems, read the press statement.
“The NEA had made a commitment to prevent energy shortage and load shedding in the industrial sector by purchasing electricity at any cost. But, this decision could not be translated into reality,” it said.
For the immediate solution to the existing problem, the NEA has been requested to procure electricity from the Indian market regularly and make it available to the industries without any hindrance or to make public the schedule of power cuts in the industries if that is not possible, read the press statement.
The private sector also urged the NEA to take immediate steps to find a solution through discussion and focus on the quality of imported electricity.
Stating that the irregular supply of electricity in the industrial sector has given a serious impetus to the journey of industrialisation of Nepal, the sector said in the statement that on the one hand, the NEA has requested to increase the power consumption, but on the other, the interruption of power supply for hours without notice has added to the concern.
“We understand that the state-owned NEA will contribute to the development of the overall economy by focusing on creating an environment of industrialisation without looking at profit / loss to supply power,” read the press statement.
At a time when production costs continue to rise, the problem of load shedding is likely to hit the country’s exports hard and widen the country’s balance of payments deficit, it said.
Source : TRN,
