Loadshedding started again in Nepal?

When Nepal announced the end of load shedding a few years ago, it was seen as a great achievement across the country. The age of darkness was said to be over, the dream of a bright Nepal was claimed to have been fulfilled. But even today, the citizens of different parts of the country are facing the same problem again and again - sometimes one hour, sometimes three-four hours, sometimes even longer. So the question of many is, is load shedding really over or just the name has changed?

Officially no load shedding now. The Nepal Electricity Authority has also been saying that there is no situation to cut off the electricity due to the fact that the production is less than the demand. But the experience of citizens is different. When the heat rises, the power consumption increases and with it the transmission line, substation or distribution system starts showing problems at different places. The message that comes next is almost the same - "Due to technical problem, power service has been interrupted, maintenance work is in progress."

The question is, this problem is not new. It is a recurring theme for years. The authorities are aware that the pressure in the system increases every summer. The fact that electricity consumption is increasing every year is not new. The government itself is encouraging the use of electric stoves, electric vehicles and other electronic devices. But if the increase in consumption was predicted in advance, why was not the construction of infrastructure that could handle it in time?

Nepal is not a country of power generation shortage now. Various hydropower projects have come into operation, the production capacity has increased more than in the past and electricity is also being exported to India during the rainy season. But the question that citizens naturally ask is - when electricity production has increased, why are the lights in the house going off repeatedly? Is the problem not in the production but in the transmission and distribution system? If so, why has the weakness seen over the years not been improved yet?

On the other hand, the responsibility of consumers is constantly increasing. Electricity tariffs have to be paid on time, various charges have to be paid, and now the issue of additional taxes and VAT is also in the news. The government is strict about revenue collection, but citizens have not been able to feel the same level of improvement in terms of service quality. One day's delay in paying the bill will result in a penalty, but there is still no clear answer to the question of who will be responsible for power outages for hours.

Almost a decade after the announcement of the end of load shedding, the fact that citizens are still facing regular power interruptions has itself become a matter of serious debate. It may be natural for problems to occur occasionally, but recurring problems of the same nature every year and repeated promises of solutions are seen as signs of managerial failure. Many years have passed since Nepal claimed to end load shedding. Citizens do not need new announcements anymore. They are just looking for an answer – if the problem has been known for years, why is there no permanent solution? The fact that power generation has increased may be important, but success for the people is meaningful only when power is not just generated, but reaches homes continuously, reliably and uninterrupted.