NEA to turn stern on defaulters of electricity bills

Kathmandu; Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said it is preparing to speed up the work of disconnecting the power supply to those consumers who have been refusing to settle electricity bills within the designated time period.

As the arrears of electricity tariffs to be collected from consumers are increasing, the power utility has hinted to take strict measures against the defaulters of electricity bills. The arrears to be collected from consumers who have taken electricity from dedicated feeders and trunk lines and the fees to be paid by local bodies for using street lights have reached about Rs 11.18 billion as of mid-September, according to the NEA.

For consumers who fail to pay their electricity tariffs on time, the existing Tariff Collection Regulations 2021 stipulate a penalty. From the 16th day after the meter reading, a five percent surcharge is imposed until the 30th day. Subsequently, from the 31st day to the 40th day, the additional fee increases to 10 percent. If consumers still do not settle their bills by the 40th day, an extra charge of 25 percent is applied from the 41st day to the 60th day.

There is further provision in the regulation that the power line of the electricity consumer who does not pay the arrears even after the 60th day can be disconnected. There is also a provision in the regulations of the NEA to blacklist the electricity consumers who do not pay the arrears even six months after the service line is disconnected leading to the legal recovery proceedings.

According to Manoj Silwal, deputy executive director of NEA, the decision has been taken to gradually disconnect power supply and recover arrears from consumers who fail to clear their dues even after the 60th day of meter reading.

In response to inquiries regarding the disconnection of government office power supplies due to outstanding electricity charges, NEA officials confirmed that the power supply to government offices would be disconnected just like any other consumer, as part of the arrears collection campaign.

The NEA officials said that the government office should be more careful and responsible regarding the payment of electricity tariff. 

Meanwhile, the outstanding fees to be collected from the consumers who have taken electricity service from dedicated feeder and trunk line is about Rs 21.87 billion and the outstanding fee to be paid by the local bodies for street lights is about Rs 6.8 billion.

Similarly, according to the decision of the Government of Nepal, the 50 percent subsidy provided in the electricity tariff to the cold storage and food preservation warehouse is about Rs 666.16 million which is yet to be received from the government.

To expedite arrears collection, NEA has issued a public notice specifying a deadline for payment of outstanding fees by consumers receiving electricity services from dedicated feeders and trunk lines. The NEA is gearing up to disconnect the power supply of consumers who do not clear their tariffs within the time frame. Additionally, NEA issued a notice on October 8, with a 45-day deadline, listing the names of local municipalities that have not paid their electricity tariffs for street lights.

The NEA has instructed the respective local power distribution centers to disconnect the electricity supply to municipalities that fail to pay their tariffs within the specified timeframe.