September 12: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to not stop electricity supply to the industries until the dispute over the tariff related to dedicated feeder and trunk line is resolved. He said a study is being carried out to resolve the dispute over the tariff which the industries are yet to pay to the NEA.   
PM Dahal telephoned NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising and issued this directive following his meeting with a delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) led by its president Chandra Prasad Dhakal at the prime minister's official residence at Baluwatar on Monday.    
On the occasion, the prime minister assured that he would take initiatives to sort out the dispute at the earliest by keeping the FNCCI, the Electricity Regulation Commission and NEA at one place.    
The NEA had on September 3 issued a notice requiring the industries to pay within 15 days their outstanding electricity tariff of the dedicated feeder and trunk line. It had warned the industries that electricity supply would be stopped if they failed to clear the dues within the deadline.    
FNCCI has suggested to the government that special initiatives were needed to protect the industries in the present time of economic crisis when they are operating in less than 40 per cent of their capacity.    
"We need support and cooperation at the present situation. Our demand is that more problems should not be created," said the FNCCI president Dhakal. FNCCI argued that the industries and businesses are facing continued crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic and the entrepreneurs would be further discouraged if power supply is cut in such a situation. -- RSS