Electricity Authority’s trunk line dues dispute leaves industrialists in panic

By Kapil Gyawali,Siddharthanagar, Oct. 8: Industrialists of Rupandehi have become more panicky due to the dispute over trunk line tariff arrears of Nepal Electricity Authority.

They complained that the case related to trunk line arrears is pending in the court, but they are under more stress after the Authority issued a notice.

After NEA asked the industrialists of Butwal-Bhairahawa Industrial Corridor to pay the amount of trunk line billing, the industrialists became panicked again.

The Authority has issued a notice asking the industries in the industrial corridor to pay the electricity arrears of the trunk line by mid-October this year.

President of Rupandehi Chamber of Industries Madhav Paudel said industrialists were shocked when the Authority repeatedly asked for the payment of trunk line tariff dues even when this matter is still under consideration in the court.

“We have been disturbed after the Authority claimed that electricity of the trunk line was consumed from August 2015 to November 2019 and then in February 2020, it increased the bill rate by 66 per cent and asked us to pay the dues,” he said.

“After being asked to pay the tariff, the government has also instructed the Electricity Regulatory Commission to resolve the dispute, but the decision is still under consideration,” said Paudel, “Now, the attention of the industrialists has been drawn after asking them to pay the tariff again.”

He said that it is an atrocity on part of the Authority to forcefully bill the trunk line with the intention of collecting expensive fees when they have not even requested the trunk line and have not used it.

Amount to be paid with discount bill of Rs. 400 million

The NEA has issued notice to 23 industries operating in the Butwal Bhairahawa Industrial Corridor to pay the trunk line electricity tariff for four years from August 2015 to November 2019.

The industrialists are protesting the Authority’s decision as one-sided, impractical and even unjust.

The amount to be paid by the 23 industries to the NEA for the discounted bills for the year August 2015 to November 2019 is Rs. 400 million.

A month ago, the Bhairahawa Distribution Centre, Naya Mill Distribution Centre and Butwal Centre of the NEA had issued a letter to the industrialists regarding payment of arrears.

Because of that letter, the industrialists have been panicked after they said that if they do not pay the outstanding amount and the penalty on top of it by the end of August 2080 (then within an additional month of October), they will take action according to the rules.

Even though they have written to pay the amount for consuming electricity of the trunk line from August 2015 to November 2019, the industrialists have been saying that they will not pay the dues as they have been connected to the trunk line without their prior consent and knowledge.

Baburam Bohora, outgoing President of Rupandehi Chamber of Industries, said that the Authority has determined the tariff by going beyond the regulations made by the Authority regarding connection of dedicated and trunk lines.

He claimed that the Authority itself is trying to pay the arrears by forcefully announcing the trunk line, even though it is mentioned in the regulations that the fee should be paid only if the power consumption exceeds 20 hours per day, if the trunk line is connected by submitting an application, in the case of more than six hours of load shedding.

He said that even during the period when the trunk line was installed, the industrialists were experiencing extreme load shedding in accordance with the industrial customer load shedding schedule published by the Authority.

He said that this dispute has been registered in the High Court of Butwal and is currently under consideration in the court.

Tariff of trunk line 67% more expensive than normal tariff

In March 2018, the NEA connected 23 industries to the trunk line while connecting Bharaulia sub-station in Rupandehi to Amwa substation to manage internal load.

The trunk line tariff is 67 per cent more expensive than the normal tariff. Despite informing that the trunk line was connected for a few days, the Authority sent the bill at the old rate for 19 months. The trunk line bill came in November 2019. But the industrialists reduced the bill by 67 per cent and paid the bill at the old rate.

The Bhairahawa Distribution Centre of NEA said that the billing of industries located between two substations is done according to the system of billing of the trunk line.