The load shedding conspiracy
For the whole of a country to remain without power for more than 2/3rd of a day- every day; a catastrophe of sorts should have had occurred. Only if the country in question is not Nepal. In Nepal, this goes on as if this is the way things should have always been.
While interacting with his students in Nepal’s premier Engineering college at Pulchowk, a prominent hydro-power expert of the country makes no bones about the fact that Nepal’s current power crisis is largely artificial. Large volumes of water from one of Nepal’s biggest reservoir-based hydro-power plants at Kulekhani, according to him, were systemically drained during Monsoon, a season when there’s water enough to flood all the rivers. Such reservoir-based plants are meant to collect water during monsoon- for use in winter, when Nepal’s rivers dry up.
The transmission lines damaged by Koshi floods have been repaired, enabling the import of some MegaWatts of electricity from India. Similarly, a quarter of a year has passed since the government released a very-long and serious sounding action-plan to minimize the effects of the power-crisis. That included the distribution of low-power electric bulbs, controlling power-leakage, cutting supplies to hoarding boards, subsidizing alternative power sources and such like. These measures were expected to save almost the same amount of power that is being imported from India. According to predictions of pundits, this would bring down load-shedding hours by half of what it is now. In the meantime, the government would re-operate some thermal power plans and start investing in newer hydro-power projects. In a matter of just ten years, Nepal would produce 10,000 MW of electricity.
It didn’t, therefore, come as a surprise to anybody, when government ministers were shouting from rooftops that load-shedding will soon be a thing of the past. After all, the generator-battery-inverter business had amassed the largest sum of money it could possibly garner in a single year, and possibly even the stocks would have emptied up. To the public eye, there seemed no reason now to continue with such atrocious durations of load shedding. But, the NEA (No Electricity Authority of Nepal) has recently announced that there will be no reduction in the duration of power-outages. Today, twittersphere was abuzz with the news of increased load-shedding duration. For the record, presently, 14 hours every day remain without power. There are some additional hours of unannounced power-cuts at arbitrary times. The rumored new routine will bring back the glorious days of 16-hours of no-power-a-day that people here were experiencing a few weeks ago.
Ok, the civil war that ran for many years (and is still running) slowed down the country’s development works and the corrupt bureaucracy helped make sure that it came to a grinding halt. There’s a difference in the supply and demand of power and some hours of load-shedding is inevitable. But the government feels no obligation to explain the reason for power-problem as serious as this. Never had Nepalese been treated so badly by a government – like they don’t even deserve an honest explanation, and we’re supposedly experiencing the most democratic political process in the nation’s history.
In the NEA’s recent statement citing inability to decrease load-shedding hours despite importing power from India, it has cited the low water levels in the Kulekhani reservoir. We never read in our newspapers about how much has the level of water decreased and why. We never hear our political leaders visiting the reservoir to check the facts and interrogate on how the present situation wasn’t foreseen. On the other hand, respected hydro-power experts complain that nobody cares about the truth and that it’s all part of a big game.
Incidentally, in today’s Kantipur (Nepal’s vernacular daily), former Managing Director of NEA writes about his first-hand experiences about conspiracies in Nepal’s hydro-power sector.
To satisfy the sadist in me, let me mention a fact that means nothing, and sounds much like a boisterous laughter from the conglomerate of Nepal’s political leadership: ours is a country whose power potential is roughly 83,000 MW, which is equivalent to the combined installed hydroelectricity capacity of Canada, the United States and Mexico (reference), although less than 1 percent has been developed (reference).
Conspiracy, catastrophe, mockery and irresponsibility by politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and media go on hand in hand with life, so blissed to be so utterly ignorant and so happily incapable of any voice and resistance, of anything at all beyond frustration, dejection and surrender. Of course, in Nepal, all this and more go on as if this is the way things should have always been.
Read my past writings about the load-shedding:
More Darkness
Diversity in Darkness
Initially I also thought that the load shedding seems to be business as usual for under-developed country like Nepal but now; hearing so many unjustified + untimely power cuts, this must be kinda conspiracy with the involvement of some politician + business house + NEA officials.
And to those people who consistently tell Nepal is capable of generating 83000 MW, they are partially wrong. Nepal has the capacity of generating only ~45000 MW that seems feasible but still the geographical and political complexity do prevent foreign + national investor from investing on those plants. When I mean investment I dont mean few hundreds MW but few thousand rather.
Prajwal Tuladhar
February 25, 2009 at 4:15 am
nicely explained
NewsFromNepal
February 25, 2009 at 4:27 am
i am feeling rather ashamed to make a comment here. my area (chabahil) hasnt faced power cutoff in last few days! perhaps due to shivaratri and mainly bcoz the VP lives in the same area — the political discrimination that has been the root of a lot of problems in nepal. i truly donno whether i sud be happy or sad about the no-powercut i’m having here..
also see this:
http://nepalstudycenter.unm.edu/MissPdfFiles/The%20Loss%20of%20Arun%20IIIRevised.pdf
jwalanta
February 25, 2009 at 5:03 am
[...] content. Today I came across what I was looking for: Bibek Paudel’s post with the above title on his blog. With his permission I am posting this article here being sure that Rangeen Chara members will find [...]
Rangeen Chara » The Load Shedding Conspiracy
February 25, 2009 at 2:49 pm
The link shared by Jwalanta is gr8t. Guys, I really can’t pin point the culprit or make any reasonable suggestion on the conspiracy. But the point made is valid. After going through the pdf, I was more certain of one thing and that it is the failure of the mega and many other so called development projects in Nepal. Certainly, the fundamental is a proper monitoring system which Nepal lacks. All the development data are buried in the thick files in some governmental offices, and what we get to hear is a mere hearsay.
The public has all the right to know exactly what government is doing, we don;t need to hear long lists of plans but concert goals and target on which Government is working and should be under public scrutiny. Don’t know but just a thought : E-Governance would provide that, you all are better judge then me in that area.
Deep Sherchan
February 25, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I was strong believer from the begining that Loadshedding was just a propaganda to hide incompetence of government, If we erase loadshedding and all of its buzz from current scenario all we are left with will be other bigger problems and government’s real face. If people cannot be kept busy and frustrated with one big problem they can act as catalyst to overthrow the regime of current myopic leaders, so this is a plot to paralyze people and rule dumb citizens.
Ankur
February 25, 2009 at 9:17 pm
[...] there is an average power cut of 14 hours it is hard to carry on with normal life. Bibek Paudel discusses the challenges Nepal is facing and who are responsible for this. Cancel this [...]
Global Voices Online » Nepal: Load Shedding Woes
February 27, 2009 at 5:45 am
nepal goverment sucks common guys stand for u re rights. electricity is a basic need n u have to fight for it.dont be santosh
pathan
February 28, 2009 at 9:32 am
So I heard they’re forecasting a 20hr load shedding schedule soon. I can’t imagine how things would be run under such situations, especially with the water shortage and (not sure if it still exists) the fuel shortage.
Lack of reasonable/clear explanations for these shortages make me believe, too, that there is indeed something sinister cooking, behind the scenes. But how could anyone profit from this scenario escapes me.
Anyhow, I hope for a better future for my country, even in the darkest of hours. Good job on the post Bibek. Keep em coming.
greencookied
March 3, 2009 at 11:24 am
@Greencookied: well, the people who own inverter companies, generator companies and so forth have a great deal to gain. Also, I believe it’s been a past Maoist tactic, at least in other nations, to pull such stunts that force an economy to collapse, so then they emerge as saviours.
Great post, Bibek, I have thought so many of the same things. The constantly shifting attributions (it’s the frozen rivers. No, it’s the Indians. no, it’s the Koshi flood….) prove that there is no good excuse. And the country is no longer “a developing country…” just going through developing country woes… it is sadly de-volving.
sirensongs
March 4, 2009 at 10:03 am
Oh BTW, I heard some stats that said the city with the most load-shedding (least electric power) – major city that is – in the world is Kabul, Afghanistan. Kathmandu is #2.
sirensongs
March 4, 2009 at 10:06 am
Does anybody have the new loadshedding schedule by any chance? By that i mean, the one that came after January. Because its so annoying when the power goes off when u are expecting it not to.
Lily
March 7, 2009 at 6:29 pm
It’s has become a vicious circle of corruption and crisis. We hate going through it, and yet in our own ways, are becoming complacent. Nicely put Bibek..
Pooja Kashyap
March 11, 2009 at 3:35 am
im sure even the poorest country of earth has suffered such electricity outage. i feel as if all the world except nepal is moving ahead to modernization while we nepalese are moving toward the DHUNGE YUG
oh no
samir
March 16, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Our government is driving us straight into the dark age and we dont want to or dare believe it. And it isnt a mighty job coz our nation has ghosts for people. They’re sucking blood out of us and when they’re done with it, they’ll have us for soup and at that moment we’ll be laughing our heads off coz it’s still all incomprehensible and utterly unbelievable.
amhsirig
March 23, 2009 at 5:41 pm
you should collect all the doc. of load shedding in nepal like starting, reasons ,status of solutions, exports opinion,necessary datas etc
chandra
May 31, 2009 at 11:36 am