NEA tells landlords not to charge tenants arbitrarily

Published On: September 16, 2019 10:36 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Sept 16: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has announced that landlords cannot charge their tenants higher tariff on electricity than the normal charges set by the authority.

The tariff set by the NEA for household consumers is up to Rs 13 per unit. However, landlords have been asking their tenants to pay higher.

“On the one hand, this affects the NEA’s reputation and on the other hand, it creates a feeling of social inequality,” said Kulman Ghising, managing director of the NEA, during a press conference on Sunday.

He said that in many instances, landlords have been found charging their tenants more than Rs 15 per unit.

“To better manage electricity billing, the NEA is installing smart meter system in Nepal. A contractor has already been selected for that,” Ghising said. “We have also introduced online payment of bills.”

Requesting the people to use electric appliances, Ghising said that the price of electricity per unit will be reduced gradually with more power produced in the future.

“Currently, we have been conducting asset evaluation of the authority,” said Ghising.

Ghising said that NEA is working with a target of 100 percent electrification in the country within four years.

Addressing queries from the media about frequent power outage, he said that this has been caused due to interruption in distribution system and transmission. “Monsoon is a peak season when power interrupts due to falling of trees. The power interruption will go down from October to February,” said Ghising. We can supply enough power, so it is not the issue of power scarcity at this time, he said.

Ghising also informed about the work of placing electrical wires underground. “The contractor has already started its work to ground the wire from Maharajgunj to Ratnapark in Kathmandu,” he said. “The NEA is also planning to take it forward in various places of the Kathmandu Valley.”

He said that the NEA would give continuity to its efforts of controlling power leakage.