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Nepal hit by 16-hour power cuts Nepal hit by 16-hour power cuts
(about 16 hours later)
Power cuts in Nepal are being increased to 16 hours a day starting on Sunday due to an electricity shortage, a senior official says. Nepal has increased its daily power cuts to 16 hours from 12 hours due to an electricity shortage.
Twelve-hour cuts have been in place since last month, when the Maoist-led government declared a power emergency. An official from the state-run power monopoly reportedly said the cuts are likely to last for five or six years.
Officials say power generation has fallen as river water levels dropped because mountain snows are not melting fast enough. Officials say demand is rising, but power generation is falling as mountain snows are not melting quickly enough.
The cuts have had a severe impact on Nepal's struggling economy. The Maoist-led government declared a power emergency last month, and the cuts have had a severe impact on Nepal's struggling economy.
Sher Singh Bhat, operations director with the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), told the BBC the cuts were brought forward from mid-February as demand for electricity is increasing, but supply remains tight. "The situation could ease a little bit in the summer, but the power cuts are here to stay for another five to six years," Sher Singh Bhat, operations director with the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), told Reuters news agency.
Yesterday, Mr Bhat told the BBC the cuts were brought forward from mid-February as demand for electricity in winter was putting further strain on generating capacity.
Power emergency
The NEA generates less than half the country's electricity needs and the amount of power it imports from neighbouring India is not enough to make up the shortfall.
Ministers are getting uninterrupted power, why is it that only ordinary people face power outages regularly? Mani LamaKathmandu taxi driver
No major hydroelectric plants have been built in the past decade because of poor security during a decade-long Maoist insurgency, which ended two years ago.
The power shortage has enraged people in the impoverished Himalayan republic.
"Ministers and the president are getting uninterrupted power supply," said angry Kathmandu taxi driver Mani Lama. "Why is it that only ordinary people are forced to face power outages regularly?"
Nepal's private television stations said on Thursday they would cut broadcasting time by five hours a day as a result of the cuts.Nepal's private television stations said on Thursday they would cut broadcasting time by five hours a day as a result of the cuts.
Industries and businesses say the power cuts have reduced output and will hit the impoverished economy, still recovering from years of a deadly civil war. Industries and businesses say the power cuts have reduced output and will hit the economy, still recovering from years of a deadly civil war.
The NEA generates 300 megawatts (MW) of electricity against a demand of 800 MW, which is rising by 10% every year.
The amount of power the country imports from neighbouring India is not enough to make up the shortfall.