The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Dhangadhi, has started disconnecting the power supplies of users who have not paid their electricity tariffs for a long time.

NEA Dhangadhi Distribution Centre started cutting the power lines of government offices and individual consumers who have been reluctant to pay the electricity bills despite repeated reminders. The NEA disconnected the power lines of 253 users in Dhangadhi and Attariya for not paying electricity bills on time.

The outstanding amount of users who have not paid electricity bills for a long time is Rs 15.34 million. According to Mithilesh Kumar Goyal, chief of Dhangadhi Distribution Center, 180 consumers have paid the tariff after they disconnected the power supply.

He said that Rs 7.83 million has been recovered from the users in the last one month alone. Dhangadhi Electricity Distribution Centre has cut the lines of seven government offices including land revenue office, survey office and road offices. At least seven government offices are yet to pay Rs 602,607 as electricity bills, according to the data of Dhangadhi Distribution Center.

Only Rs 148,640 has been recovered from the government offices where the line has been cut, said Distribution Centre Chief Goyal.

There are more than 79,000 users under Dhangadhi Distribution Center. The office said that it will continue to halt the power supply users who do not pay electricity bills on time.

According to the electricity by-laws, power supply will be cut off if the dues are not paid even after 60th day of meter reading. There is a provision to carry forward the recovery process by blacklisting the consumers who have not paid the dues for six months after the power supply is halted.