The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has written to Nepal Rastra Bank, requesting the freezing of accounts belonging to 34 industries that have failed to clear outstanding dues.

The industries had been utilising electricity through dedicated feeders and trunk lines even as other people were bearing the brunt of hours-long power cuts during the same time.

NEA’s Managing Director, Kulman Ghising, sent the letter to the central bank on Wednesday, urging action against the defaulters. This move follows the Nepal government’s decision on November 10 and a directive issued by the Electricity Regulation Commission on Tuesday.

The Commission had instructed the NEA to adopt stringent measures to compel the industries to settle their dues. In line with this directive, the NEA has also written to the Office of the Company Registrar and Nepal Stock Exchange, requesting the freezing of shares held by the defaulting companies and a halt on permissions for the share issues respectively.

A list of the defaulting industries has been sent to the concerned authorities alongside the requests. Among the defaulters, Jagdamba Steel owes the highest amount, with unpaid dues of Rs1.6 billion. Other major defaulters include Maruti Cement with arrears of Rs574.4 million, Arghakhanchi Cement with Rs448.4 million, and Reliance Spinning Mill with dues of Rs753.6 million.

The power utility had previously severed electricity connections to these industries on October 24. However, following a prolonged dispute between the government and the NEA chief, power supply was restored on November 12 after a Cabinet meeting on November 10 directed the NEA to reconnect the industries’ supply within 24 hours. The Cabinet also instructed the NEA to recover the dues within 15 days, based on the Time of Day (ToD) meter system.

The NEA’s latest actions reflect its continued efforts to recover the huge unpaid dues while ensuring compliance with government directives.