E-Kantipur

Beginning today (Monday), the Nepal Electricity Authority is enforcing a new revised power cutting schedule under which the two-hours a day power cut will be raised to a six-hours a day cut. This is a big leap forward by as much as 300 percent and just goes to show how much progress we have recorded in the past several years. The load shedding attributed this time to the maintenance of the Marsyangdi power station can only be expected to rise in the days ahead.  This is only to be expected as the power consumption during the winter months rises because of the large-scale use of electric appliances to warm up the rooms of the rich and the notorious. Even for ordinary consumers who use electricity to light up their residences, the duration rises because it gets dark early and the entire daylight time is drastically reduced.

In a recent news report we were informed that India has agreed to ease the suffering of the Nepali people by agreeing to make available 100 Megawatts of power. The NEA notification on revised power shedding made no mention of when the power from our southern neighbour would be made available. But some pertinent questions pop up. Why, for instance, should India make available power to Nepal when there is a huge power shortage in that country and when people there take to the streets from time to time demanding better power distribution?  India, in order to meet their energy needs, entered into a nuclear deal with the US and is about to set up a number of nuclear power stations. And this has come at a time when the terrifying Daichi Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan—the radiation level is officially sill monitored there—alerted

all countries of the hazards of nuclear power plants and when developed countries, taking heed from the Japanese disaster, are having second thoughts on nuclear power plants. Germany has announced that it will close down all its nuclear power plants between 2015 and 2022. Switzerland, Belgium and Italy have also announced that they would be abandoning nuclear power projects.

The $2.5 billion Kudankulam nuclear power project in India will be the first to go on steam after the US-India nuclear deal, but the local people have already protested against the nuclear facility. The electric power shortage in the country has no doubt played a pivotal role in India’s decision to opt for nuclear power plants. Today, India generates less than 5,000 megawatts of electricity from its currently running nuclear plants, but the intention is to increase the production fourfold to 20,000 megawatts within a decade and hence the importance of the US-India nuclear deal. Let’s also recall Pushpa Kamal Dahal when he was prime minister had said that Nepal would aim to generate 10,000 megawatts of power in 10 years; maybe he was trying to emulate India and go for nuclear power plants apart from taking recourse to the traditional hydropower. And why not? Unlike India, we are a NPT signatory country. If countries can make nuclear deals with non-NPT signatories, what can possibly prevent them from entering into such deals with NPT signatories? Nuclear power plants are a potential threat not merely to the concerned country, but also to the whole region and beyond.  Our country’s captains at various times must have weighed the pros and cons of having nuclear plants in our neighbouring countries and may explain why we have maintained diplomatic silence on these matters. That may explain why power is supplied to us even when the power is badly needed back home. Nothing is free, one might remember, and most favours carry a price that is paid unknowingly.

Everyone in this country was aware over two decades ago that the power generated then would not suffice. But despite the knowledge, there was no long term planning in this direction.  One country helped build the Kulekhani power station but that was a peaking station to be used for a short period each day when the power consumption in the country was at its height. That station has now become a regular power plant used night and day. The role of the World Bank that led this country as a small child would be led by an

adult towards the rising sun that took the shape of Arun III. But the World Bank left this country in the lurch. How can one build a dam and power station in an area so pristine and pure? The set-back that this country received in its power planning because of the Arun III fiasco is primarily responsible for the present power crisis in the country. Even before Arun III, another power project to be funded by Germany was abandoned because of the opposition from our neighbour. Germany diverted the funds to help build the Marsyangdi plant. Delays and politics of all kinds have led this country to the present state of power draught.

Development of hydro-power takes years and huge investments.

The governments that come to power ever so often seem not to be able to hold on to the plans and policies of previous governments and keep changing them. The private sector and especially direct foreign investment in the power sector is a must if the power scenario in the country is to take a turn for the better. Direct foreign investment with a government guarantee that its policies will not affect their investment is crucial as the kind of investment in power sector may not be possible from internal sources. Unless these elementary measures are taken, it is almost certain that the days will continue to be dark and nights darker than at present, with power cuts lasting for as long as 18 hours a day, as had happened in the not so distant past.

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