KATHMANDU

The Ministry of Finance has directed Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to proceed ahead with the clearance of dues related to electricity tariffs for street lamps from the respective local-levels.

This directive aligns with the Ministry’s decision on November 8. It wants the NEA to settle the electricity dues from the respective offices and the highest dues are towards streetlamps. The dues of 331 local levels for street lamps till mid-July amounted to Rs 6.8 billion and a significant portion of these dues has accrued after the fiscal year 2074 BS.

The NEA had previously, through its third financial restructuring plan, proposed to reconcile the unpaid tariff with the government’s account. However, the Finance Ministry declined to entertain the proposal and instead instructed NEA to pursue the collection of payments directly from the respective local offices. ‘We have proceeded with the clearance of dues accordingly,’ said NEA managing director Kulman Ghising.

The NEA on October 8 issued a public notice seeking the payment of dues for streetlamps within the next 45 days and on November 22 called on local governments for the payment through a public notice.