Kathmandu, Nov 7: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the writ petition filed by Himal Iron and Steels Pvt. Ltd. against the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) regarding the dispute over dedicated and trunkline electricity charges (bills).
The joint bench of Chief Justice Prakashman Singh Raut and Justice Mahesh Sharma Paudel dismissed the petition filed by Himal Iron and Steels against the NEA’s headquarters and its Birgunj branch office. The company had filed the petition in the Supreme Court on Falgun 9, 2075 BS, challenging the bills issued by the NEA, which included premium amounts for dedicated and trunkline charges, arguing that the bills were inappropriate and should be canceled.
According to Supreme Court spokesperson Achyut Kuikel, the petition was dismissed because the claims made in it were found to be insufficient. “The petition filed by Himal Iron has been dismissed, and although the decision has been made, the full text of the ruling has not been received yet,” he said.
With this ruling, the opposition (NEA) will be allowed to continue its actions for collecting the revenues from the industry.
Following the dismissal of the petition, Kulman Ghising, Executive Director of the NEA, commented that the issue raised by the industry regarding the bills issued by the authority has now been resolved. “The Supreme Court has proven the claims made by the industry regarding the premium charges for dedicated and trunkline services to be false,” he said. “The NEA issued the bills with valid evidence, and we are committed to collecting any outstanding amounts.”
According to Manoj Silwal, Chief of the Customer Service Directorate and Deputy Executive Director, the NEA needs to collect Rs. 136.5 million from Himal Iron for the premium charges. This amount is for the period from 2072 Magh to 2075 Baishakh.
On Kartik 8, 2081BS, the NEA had disconnected the power supply to 34 industries that had not paid the premium charges.
Among the remaining 49 industries, six industries paid the first installment of the charges on the same day, and thus their power supply was not obstructed. Seven industries have ongoing cases in the District Court of Parsa. After the power disconnections, six industries, including the Best Cement, started paying the premium charges in installments, and their electricity supply was restored. Similarly, two government-owned industries, Udaypur Cement and Hetauda Cement, have agreed to pay the premium charges in installments. Now, 28 industries still have their power supply disconnected, including Himal Iron.
During the period of power disconnections, the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) sent a letter to the NEA suggesting that it offer the disconnected industries the option to pay the charges in installments, with the understanding that electricity would be restored once payments were made. The NEA had published a notice providing a 15-day period for the 49 industries to settle their outstanding dues. #NEA #writ #TrunkLine
