June 19: Industries of Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have appealed to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation to solve the issue of power supply. The industrialists have appealed to the ministry after the power supply to the industries in the corridor was disrupted for the past two months.

The Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has written a letter to the ministry informing that the quality of electricity being supplied to the industries in the corridor has deteriorated. BCCI claims that NEA is providing low-quality electricity to the industries.

According to BCCI, industries in the corridor are supplied electricity from the 66 kV transmission line and Himal feeders in Parwanipur. According to the industrialists, the supply from these feeders is problematic due to tripping up to 8/10 times a day and power outages for 4 to 5 times.

Even though Nepal is becoming self-reliant in power generation, the problem seen in the main industrial corridor for some time has made the industrialists worried. 

“At present, the Bara-Parsa corridor has suffered the most due to irregular power supply,”said Anil Kumar Agrawal, senior vice-president of the BCCI.

“There are 200 large and 2,000 small and medium enterprises in the corridor. All of them are facing energy problems at present,” said Madhav Rajpal, vice-president of the BCCI. "Regular supply of quality electricity is essential for the operation of the industry. It's unthinkable to run the industries without electricity, Rajpal shared.

BCCI has also sent separate letters to the executive director of Nepal Electricity Authority and the head of Birgunj Distribution Center, requesting them to solve the problem, said Hari Gautam, vice president of BCCI.

Chief of the Birgunj Distribution Center of NEA Jitendra Kumar Jha said that such a problem arises due to higher demand than supply in industrial feeders. However, Gautam claimed that the infrastructure of this corridor has not been upgraded in the last 25-30 years.

At the same time, more power-consuming industries, such as iron and cement industries, have been added. However, the supply is running on the old structure. NEA should immediately improve the capacity of the transmission line, Gautam suggested. 

In the meantime, Jha shared that the problem can be removed after upgrading the transmission line. He also informed New Business Age that the work of upgrading the transmission line is underway.

Some industrialists have said that there should be a phase-wise agitation against NEA if there is such a problem in supply.

According to the BCCI, the industries have been facing problems such as sudden power outages, voltage fluctuations, deterioration of equipment of the industry, waste of raw materials and deterioration in quality. 

The industrialists have complained that the NEA takes weeks to repair the poles and wires damaged by storms causing a halt in the production. The industrialists have complained that the local office of NEA is not serious about the speedy solution to these problems.