December 27: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is working aggressively to control power leakage. The NEA has been able to reduce the leakage in the system to 14.35 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal Year. 

NEA stated that it managed to reduce the leakage in the system from 17.18 percent in the last fiscal year to 14.35 percent in the first four months of this fiscal year by conducting leakage control campaigns. NEA can save around Rs 150 billion by controlling at least three percent of leakage on average.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NEA was lagging behind to control the leakage. As the effects of pandemic are waning, NEA has resumed nationwide programmes to control the leakages thereby bringing in significant results.  

Stating that power leakage control is synonymous to electricity generation, Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has directed the NEA  to take forward leakage control tasks in collaboration with the local administration. She has directed to take action against people involved in power theft.

The local administration is also helping in controlling the leakage. Managing Director of NEA, Kulman Ghising, is regularly involved in leakage control campaign to increase electricity consumption. Ghising said that every provincial office and local distribution center has been given clear instructions not to compromise on leakage control.

As of mid-November 2021, a total of 9.24 percent of the leakage was associated with distribution and the rest was due to transmission and production. NEA has set a target to limit the leakage of electricity to 15.5 percent in the current fiscal year. Ghising informed that the target will be achieved this year as the leakage is less than the target in the first four months.

NEA reduced the leakage from 25.78 percent to 15.25 percent in 2019/20. The leakage had increased by 1.91 percent and reached 17.18 percent in 2020/21.

“We have achieved good results due to effective leakage control campaign, upgradation of substations’ capacity, additional conductors, replacement of old overloaded transformers and use of three phase meters," Ghising said.

He informed that the power supply to the industries has increased and the leakage control campaign has been made more effective. 

According to Ghising tasks including non-technical leakage control, theft control, collection of due tariff, strict action against those bypassing and hooking the meter, encouraging people to use meter, are being carried out as a part of campaign," he said, adding, "While controlling the theft, NEA staff have been attacked in many places. Even in that case, NEA is determined towards effective service delivery with the support from local administration." 

He further added that leakage cases are high in Kathmandu valley in the winter and in summer in Terai region, so NEA will run the campaign aggressively to achieve the set target.