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The gold is being traded at Rs 111, 100 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 110, 550 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,375 per tola today.

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 tomato prices have surged in the domestic market due to an abrupt decline in supply. The daily supply at the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market has dropped to 29-35 tons, down from 80-85 tons about a month and a half ago.

Tomato prices are currently hovering over Rs 100 per kg in the wholesale market, with retail prices reaching as high as Rs 200 per kg. According to the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, tomato supplies in the market dwindled from 95 tons on June 17 to as low as 37 tons on Aug 8, marking a decline of more than 60 percent. Just two months ago, farmers were receiving less than Rs 2 per kg for tomatoes, causing traders to discard tomatoes on the streets as wholesale prices plummeted to as low as Rs 5 per kg.

However, the situation has now changed. Traders say that supply in the domestic market has dwindled due to increasing exports of tomato to India where prices have skyrocketed. Badri Lal Shrestha, a tomato farmer, explained that tomatoes are being exported to India through the Bhairahawa and Birgunj customs points, and some are even being sent through informal channels. An official from the Birgunj Customs Office acknowledged that tomatoes were being exported to India but in negligible quantities. Exports have been affected by heavy rains in recent days, according to the official.

Tomatoes are not commonly exported to India. The official said traders in neighboring Indian markets have turned to Nepali tomatoes due to higher prices there. Binaya Shrestha, the information officer of the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetables Market Development Committee, attributed the rise in tomato prices to the low supply. “While the daily demand in the market is around 60-65 tons, we are receiving only about 35 tons. This has created a mismatch between demand and supply which is reflected in market prices,” he added.

Shrestha said supply fell to 28 tons—one of the lowest in recent years—on Wednesday. “As tomato prices have also increased in India, farmers in the Tarai region, who would usually send their produce to Kathmandu, are now sending tomatoes to India. This has affected supplies in our market,” he added. The peak season for tomato production in Nepal is typically Dec-Jan. Additionally, farmers who cultivate tomatoes in tunnel farms around Kathmandu and nearby areas also harvest tomatoes in May-June. This caused prices to drop significantly in June. Although tomatoes are fetching good prices now, tomatoes in tunnel farms aren’t ready for harvest yet.

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.