February 2: The second term of Kulman Ghising, who won accolades in his first term as the executive director of Nepal Electricity Authority, has become controversial. Ghising, who announced the end of load shedding, is now being criticized for not being able to provide regular electricity supply.

Last month, he cut the lines of around two dozen industries for non-payment of the electricity tariff for using the dedicated feeder and trunk line, drawing widespread criticism.

Ghising convinced Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to cut the lines to the industries but later the government instructed the NEA to restore the lines against the will of Ghising.

The Council of Ministers even decided to settle the tax dispute by forming a commission against his will.

The government directed the NEA to reconnect electricity to the industries until the commission finds a solution. The NEA has been accused of determining the electricity tariff of dedicated and trunk lines arbitrarily.

Even though the NEA has reconnected the lines, the industries complain that they are not getting the required amount of electricity and that there is power cuts for 10 to 12 hours a day.

The big industries of Bara-Parsa, which is the country's biggest industrial corridor, have been severely affected by this. The industrialists of Bara-Parsa, who have been affected by the power cut, have requested Ghising to provide regular power supply to the industries.

They have suggested him to step down if he cannot solve the problem.

“At one time, he was praised for getting rid of load shedding. Now, it is better for him to resign than to court controversy,” said one of the industrialists.

They said that industries that produce as iron, cement and other industries that require more electricity have been badly affected by the erratic power supply as those industries were built with large investments.

According to Dipesh Agarwal, chairman of the Madhes Province chapter of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, they are facing 12 hours of power cut every day in the industries of the corridor.

"When the line is cut without any prior notice, it cause damage to the panel boards, motors and other equipment of the industry. It results in the wastage of raw materials and the quality of the product is compromised,” said Agrawal, adding, “Our industry was shut down for five days when one of the equipment broke down. Who will provide the compensation?”

Industrialists said that it is becoming difficult to operate the industries due to frequent power cuts. The industry employs workers in 8-hour shifts. They say that there is a problem in the management of workers since there is no fixed time for power cuts.

The industrialists complained that they have to pay the workers even if they have no work due to power cut.

Awadhesh Dube, head of Nepal Electricity Authority, Birgunj Distribution Center, says that they are forced to halt electricity supply to the industries for load management due to the decrease in electricity production and less import from India.

“The authority has been managing the demand for electricity by importing energy from India when the production is low in winter. At present, there has been a decline in import of electricity,” he said.

The industrialists have requested the authority to make a timetable if it has to cut electricity supply.

Hari Gautam, senior vice president of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that they met the Deputy Executive Director of the Authority, Manoj Silwal, and requested him to prepare a schedule. "We face lots of problems if the electricity supply is halted randomly,” he said.