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The government has revived an administrative review committee in a fresh bid to resolve the long-running dispute over dedicated feeder and trunk line electricity dues owed by industrialists.

A recent meeting of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Board, chaired by Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, formed a new committee led by Krishna Basnet to review the controversial dues accumulated over the past decade under the dedicated feeder and trunk line system.

The review process was initially launched in March 2024 by then Energy Minister Deepak Khadka during the KP Sharma Oli-led government. However, the committee was dissolved in October the same year by then NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising.

The dispute dates back to August 2015, when the NEA introduced premium tariffs for industries receiving uninterrupted electricity supply through dedicated feeders and trunk lines during a period of severe load-shedding. Under the arrangement, high-energy-consuming industries were required to pay additional charges on top of regular electricity tariffs.

The NEA has been attempting to recover the outstanding dues for more than a decade, arguing that several industries failed to pay the premium charges for electricity consumed during peak load-shedding hours. Despite repeated notices and deadlines, many industrial users have refused to settle the payments.

After industrialists failed to respond to calls for settlement, the NEA disconnected electricity supply to 23 manufacturing industries last year. The authority had offered industries the option of clearing their dues in up to 28 installments or seeking an administrative review of their bills.

The previous NEA leadership had also reduced the required deposit for the review process from 25 percent to 5 percent of the disputed amount to facilitate participation. Following the decision, 46 industries applied for administrative review. However, the process stalled amid political developments and the Gen Z-led protest movement.

On April 13 this year, the NEA, under the leadership of Executive Director Hitendra Dev Shakya, issued a fresh public notice directing industries with outstanding dues from mid-January 2016 to mid-May 2018 to clear their payments within the stipulated deadline.

According to the NEA, the total unpaid amount under the dedicated feeder and trunk line scheme exceeds Rs 8 billion.