Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha arrived in Dolpa on Thursday to inaugurate the tunnel construction of the 106-megawatt Jagadulla Hydropower Project under construction. Shrestha, who reached Dolpa by helicopter along with a team including Energy Secretary Sarita Kumari Dawadi and Jagadulla Hydropower CEO Sanjay Sapkota, also inspected the Surkhet Distribution Center. During the same period, he shared on social media that he had received information from Karnali DIG Jayaraj Sapkota about the passenger bus accident in Dailekh.

However, opposition MP Gyanendra Shahi has commented on the minister's visit on social media and wrote, 'While the Energy Minister is conducting an inspection tour of Karnali in a helicopter, even divers have not been able to reach the site in time to search for citizens drowned in the Karnali River.' He mentioned that no formal program can be more important than the lives of citizens during a crisis.

On the other hand, the Electricity Regulatory Commission has been without a leader for the past two months after the office bearers were automatically relieved of their duties under the 'Special Provisions on the Dismissal of Public Officials Ordinance 2083'. About 40 employees of the commission have not been able to receive their salaries, while daily tasks such as the initial public offering (IPO) of promoters, approval of rights shares (rights) and changes in share structure have been left behind. The recommendation committee formed by the ministry for the appointment of office bearers has already conducted interviews and presentations of the candidates and the ministry claims that the commission will be complete this week. As per the ordinance, the members, including the Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, were also relieved of their duties. Although Energy Minister Shrestha appointed two members, the process of appointing the Executive Director has not yet been taken forward.

Energy Minister Shrestha had formed two high-level committees on 19 Chaitra - the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Study Committee under the coordination of Joint Secretary Sagar Raj Gautam and the Project License Review Committee under the coordination of Joint Secretary Mohan Shakya. The committee led by Shakya has already submitted its report. Although the minister's secretariat claimed that it had recommended revoking the licenses of 38 hydropower projects of 1,388 MW that have already been PPAs, the committee members have said that no such recommendation was made.

The committee led by Gautam has already submitted its report. But Energy Minister Shrestha has not yet taken any further decision on it. Similarly, an 8-member committee has been formed under the coordination of Joint Secretary Sandeep Kumar Dev to study the restructuring of the Nepal Electricity Authority. It has not yet submitted its report.

On April 3, Minister Shrestha had issued 32-point directives with time limits to subordinate bodies. However, due to the absence of an office bearer, the work schedule of the Electricity Regulatory Commission remains as it is. Following the minister's directive, the Department of Electricity Development has not issued any new survey licenses since April.

Although the department has made the ‘License Performance Dashboard’ public, it has not been updated regularly on a monthly basis. The government’s ‘100 Agendas for Governance Reforms’ mentions that decisions on pending PPAs and licenses will be made within 180 days. In the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle had announced that PPAs for projects with a capacity of less than 10 MW will be made immediately and the ‘take or lose’ method will be implemented by revoking the licenses of projects whose construction has not started.

According to Energy Secretary Sarita Dawadi, the ministry will now take a decision based on the budget arrangement and the suggestions of the high-level committee. Even after the high-level committee submitted its report, no further decision has been taken. Amidst these challenges and confusion, the ministry has claimed that it has also taken some corrective and positive steps in the 100-day period. 25 family members of the Gen-G movement that took place last Bhadra have been appointed on contract service in offices under the NEA since Asad 2. The current Energy Minister Kulman Ghising had earlier initiated the process of providing ministerial employment during the interim government, which has now been materialized after he took over the leadership of the ministry.

Energy Minister Shrestha has also directed the Nepal Electricity Authority to prioritize the process of collecting electricity tariff arrears including dedicated and trunk lines, street lights and more on its daily agenda. The Steering Committee has already formed an Administrative Review Committee. Now, electricity tariff, fines and other disputes can be reviewed through the Dispute Committee.

Similarly, a good governance unit has been formed to remove duplication in service delivery, and 18,398 out of 18,796 complaints received through the toll-free number (1151) from 13 Chaitra to 15 Ashar have been resolved.

A chatbot has also been launched on the Authority's website for consumer assistance. Policy-wise, a draft of the Energy Consumption Growth and Export Strategy 2083 has been prepared, while the draft of the 'Water Resources Bill' and the 'Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Bill' have been sent to various ministries for their opinions.