KATHMANDU: The Nepal Electricity Authority's (NEA) managing director, Kulman Ghising, disclosed that 28 businesses that use trunk and dedicated lines had not made any payments on their electricity bills. Ghising voiced his concerns about the unpaid bills during a press conference in Kathmandu on Wednesday, threatening to cut off these industries' power if they don't make payments within 15 days.

The government has directed the Authority to extend the deadline by an additional 15 days in order to allow for more collection efforts, even though the NEA had granted a three-month grace period for installment payments. The Ministry of Energy and the Government of Nepal are now in charge of collecting the outstanding debts, Ghising explained. 

Ghising said the NEA would follow the government's order, allowing the industries to settle their debts within a final 15 days. He said the NEA would follow its rules and take appropriate measures, such as perhaps cutting off services, if the payments were not received.

The Regulatory Commission's written recommendations and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's earlier directives, which had given the industries a three-month grace period, were also cited by him. Ghising emphasized that the situation had reached a critical point and that the NEA was according to the government's directive with the additional 15-day extension.

Ghising stressed that in order to allow enterprises more time to pay their debts, the NEA had not actively sought disconnection as a way to reclaim the arrears. He reaffirmed that the situation was now under the government's and the Ministry of Energy's purview and that, considering its national importance, it would probably become a topic of public concern if it was not remedied.

Ghising reiterated the NEA's resolve to abide by the directives of the government and hold off on taking any further action until the 15-day timeframe had passed. He claimed that because the issue directly affected national interests, it was no longer only a problem for the NEA but also for the general public.