Supply or not, NEA charges demand fee

Kantipur Report

BIRATNAGAR, March 16 - The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has been collecting Rs. 10.5 million daily in demand fees from industries even though they have not been getting the amount of electricity they have applied for.

A survey conducted by the Morang Trade Association (MTA) of 77 large industries in the Morang-Sunsari corridor revealed that they paid Rs. 7.46 million as demand fees.

There are more than 500 large and small industries in the corridor. The factories are paying a demand fee even though they are not being supplied enough electricity to operate fully, said Dinesh Golchha, president of the MTA.

He added that small industries which consumed less that 100 KV of electricity were forced to pay more than Rs. 10 million as demand fees.

The NEA charges Rs. 190 as a demand fee for each KV of electricity even if no power is consumed. Industries have been protesting from the last week of February demanding that the fee be scrapped.

Aarahit Multifibre which consumes 1,850 KV of electricity has to pay Rs. 351,500, Pashupati Iron with a consumption of 1,050 KV has to pay Rs. 199,500, Dhan Laxmi

Synthetic with a consumption of 2,700 KV pays Rs. 513,000, Aarti Strips with a consumption of 1,400 KV pays Rs. 279,300 and Hulas Wires with a consumption of 1,544 KV pays Rs. 293,360 as demand fees.

If the NEA were to provide electricity to the corridor 30 days a month, then the total electricity consumption would come to 3,9273 KV.

Rakesh Surana, electricity coordinator for the corridor, said that the industries receive electricity for only 300 hours a month but they are made to pay demand fees for the whole month. The demand fee for 300 hours of power a month comes to about Rs. 3.1 million, he added.

Surana said that a few industries and hotels had been made to pay demand fees for more power than what they actually consumed.

Posted on: 2009-03-15 22:18:57

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