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Eight years following the government’s declaration of an energy crisis, the Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal (IPPAN) has once more called upon the authorities to announce a state of energy emergency and put in place necessary arrangements for the acceleration of hydropower projects.

During its presentation to the Infrastructure Development Committee of the Federal Parliament on Tuesday, the IPPAN reiterated this request. On the same day, the President of IPPAN, Ganesh Karki, also discussed the energy emergency once more in a conversation with the Confederation of Nepalese Industries.

The Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are advocating for the declaration of an energy emergency to address the issues encountered in the development of hydropower projects. They assert that regulations concerning forests, the environment, and land have been impeding hydropower development due to challenges in acquiring land and obtaining forest clearances. The IPPs suggest that these provisions should be temporarily suspended through the announcement of an energy emergency.

According to IPPAN President Karki, the private sector has demanded an energy emergency as industries in the country are not getting as much electricity as they demand, but the electricity produced by the IPPs is being wasted. Karki also pointed out that the Nepal Electricity Authority is encountering difficulties in constructing transmission lines.

The IPPAN believes that operational processes would be smoother if the government were to declare an energy emergency, as this would lead to a heightened emphasis on overcoming challenges within the energy sector. The IPPs have expressed that to attain the government’s goal of producing 30,000 MW of electricity within the next decade, the implementation of an energy emergency is imperative.

The private sector engaged in the hydropower industry is urging the parliament to announce a ‘Decade of Energy Development’ and make revisions to certain regulations. They have suggested that the government should temporarily halt specific provisions within laws pertaining to forests, the environment, and land, and instead concentrate on advancing energy-related infrastructure development.

IPPAN suggests that the immediate issuance of the new electricity bill is necessary, along with increasing the bank’s energy sector investment to 20 percent within a decade. They also emphasize the importance of fostering a political climate that supports energy development within the nation and enabling the private sector to engage in power trading.

The IPPAN has called for the establishment of a streamlined process where investors can obtain government approvals through a single point of access. Presently, investors are required to navigate through at least seven ministries and 23 departments to progress with the development of a single hydropower project.

If past precedent is anything to go by, the experiment of declaring an energy emergency has not been successful. The last time when the government announced such an emergency was in 2016. The then Cabinet endorsed the National Energy Crisis Reduction and Electricity Development Decade plan aiming to add an additional 839 MW of electricity in the next one year during the dry season.

In 2008, the government had also declared an energy emergency during the tenure of Water Resources Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel. However, it flopped as there were no concrete plans and programs. In 2012, the government again announced an energy emergency for a four-and-a-half year’s period.

The meeting of the House of Representatives has been postponed following obstruction from main opposition CPN-UML on Friday.

The meeting that started at 1 pm today was postponed owing to the obstruction from the UML.

The next meeting has been scheduled from 1 pm on Monday.

As soon as the meeting began, Speaker Devraj Ghimire gave time to lawmaker Jwala Kumari Sah to speak.

The UML lawmakers stood from their respective seats as a gesture of protest while Sah was speaking.

After the UML lawmakers stood from their seats in protest, the lawmakers of the ruling parties also stood from their respective seats demanding that they be given time to speak and Parliament be allowed to proceed with its business.

Speaker Ghimire urged the lawmakers to allow the Parliament to resume its business. He also requested the lawmakers to follow the rules to operate the Parliament smoothly.

But still, the UML lawmakers keep on protesting demanding the formation of a high-level probe committee to investigate the latest gold smuggling case.

Marshals had stopped the lawmakers while they were moving ahead to gherao the well.

Afte the lawmakers were stopped by the marshals, they started changing slogans like take action against the corrupt leaders and gold smugglers.

Saying that the House could not be resumed amid the obstruction, Speaker Ghimire informed that the meeting has been postponed till 1 pm on Monday.

The UML lawmakers obstructed the meeting of the National Assembly today as well.

The UML alleged that the government ministers are involved in the gold smuggling.

Two more Chinese nationals have been arrested in connection with the recent 100 kg gold smuggling case on Friday.

Li Jialin and Liu Fuyan were arrested from Tibhuvan International Airport on the charge of their involvement in the scam, said Chief of TIA Immigration Office, Ram Bandhu Subedi.

The duo were arrested when they were travelling to China, he added.

The arrested ones have been handed over to the Central Investigation Bureau for further investigation, according to the TIA Immigration Office.

As the expenses surged, the profit of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) declined by Rs 1.04bn in the last fiscal. The state-owned power utility posted a profit of Rs 12.33bn in the fiscal 2022/23. The NEA had logged a profit of Rs 13.37bn in the FY 2021/22. 

The authority’s net profit in the FY 2022/23 plunged by 7.77 percent compared to a whopping 119.18 percent growth in the FY 2021/22. 

According to NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising, the profit took a beating due to a decline in power generation from hydel projects of the NEA and the private sector, as well as increased electricity imports to manage domestic power demand. 

Despite the decline in profit, the NEA’s operating income surged by 13.88 percent last fiscal. The authority earned an income of Rs 100.37bn in the FY 2022/23 compared to Rs 88.13bn in the FY 2021/22. 

Of the total income in the last fiscal, the NEA earned Rs 89.78bn from the distribution of electricity within the country and Rs 10.59bn from electricity export to India.

Due to the prolonged dry season and decrease in water levels in the rivers, the NEA imported more electricity from the southern neighbor last fiscal. The NEA spent Rs 19.44bn for electricity imports from India in the FY 2022/23.

The state-owned power utility has said that it is going to issue shares to the public. In a press conference organized by the authority on Thursday, Ghising said the process of issuing an initial public offering (IPO) has been initiated. According to Ghising, the NEA has received an AA+ rating from the rating agency ICRA Nepal for its IPO.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 111, 100 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 111, 300 per tola on Thursday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 110, 550 per tola. It was traded at Rs 110, 750 per tola.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,370 per tola today.

House of Representatives Speaker Devraj Ghimire and National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina met President Ram Chandra Paudel on Friday.

During the meeting, President Paudel expressed his concern over the continuous obstruction in the Parliament.

Earlier on Thursday, President Paudel had held a meeting with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

They had briefed the President about the House deadlock and the role of political parties.

Ghimire and Timilsina had urged the President to take an initiative to convince the opposition parties to lift the obstruction as the guardian.

They urged President Paudel to hold a discussion with all the political parties as the guardian.

In response, President Paudel said that all the parties should be united to protect the Constitution.

Following the request of Ghimire and Timilsina, President Paudel assured that he will hold a discussion with the political parties to end the House deadlock.

The main opposition CPN-UML has been obstructing the Parliament proceedings demanding formation of a high-level probe committee to investigate the latest gold smuggling case.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday held a discussion with the ministers and secretaries regarding making the labor market of Nepal decorous and safe.

During the meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar this morning, they held a discussion on important issues such as the problems being faced by the Nepalis in foreign employment, ways to resolve them and to manage labor market within the country, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat said.

The discussion was also held to affiliate the workers to the social security fund.

A formal program will be organized on August 16 for the same.

Saying that the Nepalis have been facing various problems in the course of foreign employment, the Prime Minister directed the ministers and secretaries to carry out a broader study and present a proposal of long-term solution in the next meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka, Finance Minister Prakash Saran Mahat, Employment and Social Security Minister Sharad Singh Bhandari, Nepali government Chief Secretary Baikuntha Aryal, Finance Secretary and Labor Secretary among others were present in the meeting.

Police on Thursday evening seized the counterfeit notes from Changunarayan area of Bhaktapur.

A joint police team deployed from Metropolitan Police Circle, Thankot and Police Range Changunarayan confiscated the fake notes worth Rs 1.5 million.

Police said that they have arrested nine persons for their alleged involvement in the transaction of fake notes.  

Acting on a tip-off, the police team carried out a raid at the rented room of Arjun Subedi and recovered the fake notes, Superintendent of Police (SP) Prajit KC said.