The new companies, including factories of steel and oil and rice mills, will be consuming additional 10 MW of electricity per day. This means industries at the corridor will have to face additional power cuts once the new industries start operation. [break]
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has been providing 90 MW of electricity to 550 industries in the corridor against the daily demand for 135 MW. NEA cannot supply power as per the demand as it has no big power house in the eastern region.
“The new industries will start operation very soon as they have already readied necessary infrastructures,” said Rakesh Surana, energy coordinator of the Morang Trade Association.
Eastern regional chief of NEA, Ganesh Prasad Raj, said NEA was supplying 65 MW imported from India via Kataiya, 15 MW from national grid and 10 MW from multi-fuel plant of Bansbari to the corridor. He also ruled out the possibility of supplying additional electricity to the corridor.
“Load-shedding hours will increase further in the corridor once the new industries start operation. This will increase our production cost and make our products more expensive,” Surana added.
Industrialists have long been demanding the government to declare the corridor as a load-shedding free area. They have also asked the government to purchase additional 50 MW for the corridor.
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