Kathmandu, December 3
The Ministry of Finance has directed the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to collect dues related to electricity tariffs for street lamps from the respective local levels.
This directive aligns with the Ministry’s decision on November 8. It wants the NEA to settle the electricity dues from the respective offices and the highest dues are towards streetlamps.
NEA says 331 local levels owe Rs 6.8 billion in electricity charges.
The Authority had previously, through its third financial restructuring plan, proposed to reconcile the unpaid tariff with the government’s account. However, the Finance Ministry declined to entertain the proposal and instead instructed the Authority to pursue the collection of payments directly from the respective local offices.
“We have proceeded with the clearance of dues accordingly,” said NEA managing director Kulman Ghising.
The Authority on October 8 issued a public notice seeking the payment of dues for streetlamps within the next 45 days and on November 22 called on local governments for the payment through a public notice.
The Authority disconnected the electricity supply to various government offices due to their unpaid dues.
