Kathmandu, Dec 24: Lawmakers have called for encouraging the participation of private sector in development of electricity sector.
During discussions held by the Infrastructure Development with those who have sought amendments to the Power Bill 2080 BS, the participants stressed that the Bill should come in a way so that private sector’s involvement in development of electricity sector could be encouraged.
Gagan Thapa highlighted the need to provide more space to the private sector. He questioned over the proposed provision that cites that it is not necessary for a competition in any power project having 51 percent or more than that’s governments’ investment. As he proposed, the local levels should be allowed to develop a project of up to three megawatt instead of proposed five megawatts.
Similarly, Janardan Sharma advised the government to give license to power producers on the basis of their competency and ensure competition in projects identified by the government. “National parks have caused obstructions in operations of hydropower projects and the issues be eased.”
Likewise, Bina Lama stressed that energy sector be secured. She called for coming up with a substantive plan for the development of settlement. “Private sector should be encouraged to investment in power production, but where private sector makes investment, the government should not invest in such project. Otherwise, corruption will prevail.”
Laxmi Tiwari and Kalpana Chaudhary voiced for incorporating the issues raised during the discussion into the Bill. #nepal #House #electricity
