Kathmandu. Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka has said that Nepal should follow the same wave, referring to the rapid progress made by India and China in the power sector. He said Nepal should also lay emphasis on developing quality energy infrastructure.

Khadka stressed the need for active participation of all stakeholders to make the power development result-oriented as per the people’s expectations. Speaking at a programme organized on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the National Federation of Community Electricity Consumers Nepal in Kathmandu today, Minister Khadka said, “We have enough resources and some challenges, but if everyone moves forward together, the electricity sector can be made the basis of prosperity.”

Referring to the rapid progress made by India and China in the power sector in the recent past, he opined that Nepal should follow the same wave and lay emphasis on developing quality energy infrastructure. Minister Khadka has proposed that the organizations that could not operate among the power projects being run at the community level should be managed through the Nepal Electricity Authority.

Speaking on the occasion, he highly respected the role played by the Federation of Community Electricity Users in expanding electricity services in remote areas of the country during the conflict and stressed the need to institutionalize such efforts in future as well.

On the occasion, former Energy Minister Deepak Gyawali, Chairman of Electricity Regulatory Commission Dr. Energy Secretary Suresh Acharya and Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority Hitendra Dev Shakya, among others, lauded the contribution of FNCCI in rural electrification through community power promotion.

FNCCI President Narayan Gyawali said that so far more than 300 community organizations have provided electricity to about 600,000 households. According to him, the power structure has been constructed with an investment of about Rs 2 billion collected from the community. On the occasion, various organizations and media persons were honoured for their outstanding contribution to community electrification.