The subsidy was calculated after agreeing on the assumption that each liter of diesel would produce four units of electricity, said an MoCS official.
Despite protest by petroleum dealers, the ministry has also finalized a manual for distributing subsidy on diesel to industries. “The manual was forwarded to the cabinet on Wednesday for approval,” said MOCS Joint Secretary Ganesh Dhakal.
He told myrepublica.com that if the cabinet endorsed the manual, the cost of power generation from diesel will drop to Rs 11.50 per unit for industries. Presently, industries are spending Rs 14 for the same.
Moreover, the manual notes that industries will get the subsidy for two days of the week only, as responsibility for ensuring uninterrupted power supply for five days has been vested in Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
Also, the subsidy will be provided in the form of a cash refund, Dhakal told myrepublica.com. What this means is; industries will first need to fulfill their requirements from the market and the government will refund the subsidy amount later.
Officials said that such an arrangement has been pushed with a view to avoiding dual pricing of diesel in the market.
In order to prevent misuse of the state facility, the ministry has further provisioned that the subsidy will be provided on the basis of units recorded on the power consumption meter, which will be fixed on the diesel plant or industrial generator sets.
“It will be the industries´ own liability to fix the power consumption meter, and the meter should meet the technical specifications and standards set by NEA,” said the official. The task of inspecting and monitoring the meters has been entrusted to Nepal Oil Corporation.
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