Government dismisses and appoints new members to NEA Board

KATHMANDU: The government has dismissed two directors of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Kapil Acharya and Bhakta Bahadur Pun, and appointed new members to the board.

Kapil Acharya and Bhakta Bahadur Pun, who were appointed under the quota of the CPN (Unified Socialist) and CPN (Maoist Centre), were removed from their positions by Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Dipak Khadka.

The dismissal came after the two directors failed to cooperate in implementing directives from the government and the Electricity Regulatory Commission regarding a dispute over dedicated and trunk lines. Minister Khadka sought clarification from the directors on July 31, but their responses were found unsatisfactory, leading to their dismissal on August 3.

On July 21, the NEA Board of Directors had decided to reconnect the lines of six industries whose electricity had been cut off due to the dispute. However, directors Pun and Acharya recorded dissenting opinions against this decision. They were subsequently asked for clarification for opposing the Prime Minister’s verbal and the Electricity Regulatory Commission’s written instructions to reconnect the lines, which was seen as a failure to cooperate with government directives.

Acharya mentioned that he received the dismissal letter on Sunday. “I received an invitation for an NEA Board of Directors meeting on Sunday, but shortly after, I received the dismissal letter,” Acharya said.

Section 9 of the Nepal Electricity Authority Act grants the government the authority to appoint and remove NEA directors. The directors’ term is four years, and the government can remove or replace them if necessary. The Ministry of Energy stated that the directors were dismissed under this provision of the Act.

“There is no legal requirement to seek clarification before dismissing a director. However, various court rulings have established the precedent of giving an opportunity for clarification. Therefore, clarification was sought, and as it was found unsatisfactory, the ministers made the decision to dismiss them,” a ministry source said.

In the electricity tariff dispute, NEA had cut off the lines of six industries, including Reliance Spinning Mills, Ghorahi Cement, Arghakhanchi Cement, Jagdamba Steel, Jagdamba Synthetics, and Hulas Steel, on July 9. The lines were reconnected on July 23. The NEA decided to reconnect the electricity on the condition that the industries would pay the overdue charges within three months, failing which the dues would be collected according to regulations.

Earlier, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had directed the NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising to reconnect the lines. However, Ghising had disobeyed the Prime Minister’s directive. Subsequently, the Electricity Regulatory Commission issued a written directive to reconnect the lines immediately, stating that it was illegal to cut the lines amid the ongoing dispute. Despite this, NEA Executive Director Ghising had refused to reconnect the lines in the board meeting. On July 23, the board meeting decided to reconnect the lines with a minute date of July 21.

Pun and Acharya had recorded dissenting opinions on this decision. They refuted the government’s allegations, stating that they had not done anything illegal.

In their place, the government has appointed former Energy Secretaries Devendra Karki and Mahendra Bahadur Gurung as directors of the NEA.

Nabin Raj Singh, spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, announced that Karki and Gurung were appointed as NEA directors on August 3. “They were appointed as directors according to the ministerial decision made on August 3,” he said. “The Ministry of Energy had sought clarification from NEA board members Kapil Acharya and Bhakta Bahadur Pun. Their responses were unsatisfactory, leading to their removal and the appointment of Karki and Gurung as board members.”

Karki is a former secretary of the Ministry of Energy, and Gurung is an expert in the infrastructure sector. Gurung has worked on the Pancheshwar Hydropower Project.