Powerless about power woes
Himalayan News Service Kathmandu, December 25:
The Maoist-led government seems to be powerless about the ongoing power woes. The misery has been piled on in the wake of today’s announcement. The nation is bracing for a 12-hour load-shedding daily from Monday. The reason: the energy deficit stands at 3.8 million units per day. The shortfall is pegged at a whopping 40 per cent. The situation has aggravated following a yawning gap between demand and supply — a perennial problem around this time of the year when the snow-fed rivers run dry.
“The demand is growing by 10 per cent annually. If the situation does not improve by February, then there may be 16 hours of power cuts daily,” said Sher Singh Bhat, chief, load dispatch centre, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). He made the statement at a press conference, organised by Ministry of Water Resources, where the National Energy Crisis Working Plan — 2065 was unveiled. The plan aims to tide over the power woes, which is having an adverse impact on all walks of life. Yesterday, the cabinet had approved the plan. It encompasses 25 short-term, three mid-term and seven long-term programmes. Shankar Koirala, secretary, Ministry for Water Resources, painted an ominous picture if the plans weren’t implemented. “The crisis is likely to continue for the next five years,” he said. The ministry attributed the crisis to its inability to meet the target of the 10th Five-Year Plan. Though the target was 314 MW, it generated only 40 MW.
“To make matters worse, the water level at Kulekhani Hydropower Project is at 24m. The Koshi floods had also destroyed the transmission line with India. We used to import 60 MW from India,” explained Koirala. Last year, the country’s energy crisis stood at 430 million units, resulting in an estimated loss of Rs 32 billion. This year, the figure is likely to go up to Rs 45 billion, it hard by the crisis, the government will re-negotiate the Power Purchase Agreement rates with hydropower projects that produce energy up to 25 MW.
There is no need to seek permission of Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation to construct projects up to 50 MW as long as they are not located inside national parks and conservation areas. A Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) campaign will be launched from January 14. A record 20 million CFLs will be distributed. Industrial areas and corridors, however, have been promised uninterrupted power supply. Several sops are being mooted to boost alternative forms of energy. There will be a seven-year tax holiday for construction of hydropower projects within 2011. New Energy Act and Nepal Electricity Regulatory Commission Act will also be endorsed.
Source: The Himalayan Times, 26 December 2008
The Maoist-led government seems to be powerless about the ongoing power woes. The misery has been piled on in the wake of today’s announcement. The nation is bracing for a 12-hour load-shedding daily from Monday. The reason: the energy deficit stands at 3.8 million units per day. The shortfall is pegged at a whopping 40 per cent. The situation has aggravated following a yawning gap between demand and supply — a perennial problem around this time of the year when the snow-fed rivers run dry.
“The demand is growing by 10 per cent annually. If the situation does not improve by February, then there may be 16 hours of power cuts daily,” said Sher Singh Bhat, chief, load dispatch centre, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). He made the statement at a press conference, organised by Ministry of Water Resources, where the National Energy Crisis Working Plan — 2065 was unveiled. The plan aims to tide over the power woes, which is having an adverse impact on all walks of life. Yesterday, the cabinet had approved the plan. It encompasses 25 short-term, three mid-term and seven long-term programmes. Shankar Koirala, secretary, Ministry for Water Resources, painted an ominous picture if the plans weren’t implemented. “The crisis is likely to continue for the next five years,” he said. The ministry attributed the crisis to its inability to meet the target of the 10th Five-Year Plan. Though the target was 314 MW, it generated only 40 MW.
“To make matters worse, the water level at Kulekhani Hydropower Project is at 24m. The Koshi floods had also destroyed the transmission line with India. We used to import 60 MW from India,” explained Koirala. Last year, the country’s energy crisis stood at 430 million units, resulting in an estimated loss of Rs 32 billion. This year, the figure is likely to go up to Rs 45 billion, it hard by the crisis, the government will re-negotiate the Power Purchase Agreement rates with hydropower projects that produce energy up to 25 MW.
There is no need to seek permission of Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation to construct projects up to 50 MW as long as they are not located inside national parks and conservation areas. A Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) campaign will be launched from January 14. A record 20 million CFLs will be distributed. Industrial areas and corridors, however, have been promised uninterrupted power supply. Several sops are being mooted to boost alternative forms of energy. There will be a seven-year tax holiday for construction of hydropower projects within 2011. New Energy Act and Nepal Electricity Regulatory Commission Act will also be endorsed.
Source: The Himalayan Times, 26 December 2008
