Power Off

Each day the electricity supply is stopped for several hours by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). The so called load-shedding, or rolling blackout, is a planned power outage which is required due to insufficient electricity generation capacity. Nepal's electricity generation is dominated by hydropower. Depending on the level of water in rivers load-shedding can be up to 16 hours per day in the dry months.

A new load-shedding schedule is effective from 2068-05-29 (based on Nepali calendar), restricting power for 2-3 hours per day in Kathmandu. The schedule ensures that consumers know in advance about outages and electricity is equally restricted in all regions. Further, the hours in which the consumer do not receive electricity are rotated. The schedule, which NEA publishes regularly, has become a must have document these days and, although cynical, is popular in every household.

Limited electricity means that refrigeration, especially during the warm summer months, can be problematic. Most households shop for food several times per week, and when purchased, meat is generally cooked and consumed immediately.

In their 2011 Annual Report the NEA's MD says, "Year 2010/11 is marked as yet another year of exponential challenge towards meeting the growing demand for electricity. Our efforts could not produce tangible outcomes as expected due to existing undulations in the power sector but our initiatives and efforts to resolve the prevailing problems indicate a hopeful future."

Oh well, why worry, if you are part of the "half of the population [which] is still deprived from use of electricity" (source: NEA)?