The Agriculture, Cooperative, and Natural Resources Committee under the House of Representatives (HoR) has directed the government to provide electricity tariff subsidies to cold storage facilities.

The decision follows reports that many cold storage units in Nepal have shut down due to the removal of electricity tariff exemptions.

The parliamentary committee has urged the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (PMO) to draft and implement the necessary procedures to support cold storage facilities. The guidance aims to prevent the wastage of seeds, agricultural products and goods by ensuring proper storage, processing, and preservation. It also encourages off-season consumption, sale, distribution, preservation and promotion of these products.

The parliamentary committee mentioned that past decisions and budget statements of the government supported providing subsidies on electricity tariffs to the cold storage facilities. In the meetings held on June 27, 2017 and July 9, 2017, the cabinet decided to offer a 50% subsidy on the electricity tariffs for cold storage.

However, these decisions were later reviewed, leading to confusion and a decision made by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) on April 10, 2023, which removed the electricity tariffs concession for cold storage.

The committee highlighted that as the NEA’s decision contradicted the objective of the PMO’s decision, a certiorari order from the Patan High Court on August 30, 2023, invalidated the revised decision.

The committee has also instructed the government to reinstate the electricity concessions and ensure that cold storage facilities can operate without additional financial burden.