Govt. bringing clear policy to up domestic power consumption

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet has said the government shall bring clear policy to increase the power consumption within the country itself first.

Addressing the Fourth Anniversary function of the Electricity Regulation Commission in Kathmandu on Monday, he said domestic power consumption capacity would be enhanced. “First we give priority to fulfill the domestic demand and we will move ahead in a planned manner for scaling up the power consumption for domestic purpose, industrial sector and transport sector,” Minister Basnet pointed out.

Stating that the government has been pursuing the policy of carrying out electrification in cent per cent sectors, minister Basnet said the cooperation of the public, private and community sectors is necessary for the purpose. The Energy Minister also shared on the occasion that preparations were on for tabling the Electricity Bill in the Federal Parliament for making the power sector systematized. He said that the bill incorporated topics like increased production and making arrangements for infrastructures for trade and distribution. Director General at the Department of Electricity Development Chiranjivi Chataut spoke on the significant role played by the energy sector towards bringing economic prosperity for Nepal and suggested the regulatory body to strengthen its role. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) executive director Kulman Ghising called on the Commission to pay attention to the regulation of the energy sector in the country. Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal (IPPAN) president Krishna Prasad Sharma called for permitting the private sector to carry out power trade to fulfill the vision- Nepal’s Water, Fountain of Prosperity. The Commission was established in 2076 BS with a view to ensuring smooth, regular, well-managed and transparent the production, transmission, distribution and trade of power, for maintaining balance between the demand and supply of power, for regulating the electricity tariff  and for protecting the consumer interests.