Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has increased the load shedding hours to 51 hours a week starting today.

NEA will cut power in all areas in rotation for seven hours a day for five days and eight hours a day for two days in two slots everyday.

According to chief of NEA's load dispatch centre Sher Singh Bhat, the load shedding hours were increased as the electricity production is decreasing, while the production is falling.

NEA had been cutting power only in the mornings and afternoons so far. From today, it will also cut power in the afternoons.

With the advent of dry season, the water level in the rivers has gone down affecting electricity production. All the hydro-power plants in Nepal except Kulekhani and Mid-Marsyangdi are based on run-off-the-river system.

According to NEA, the demand for electricity across the nation at peak hours is 845 MW, while the supply is only 450 MW.

Going by the current trend, outage timing is expected to rise to 12 hours a day starting as early as January.

Although, NEA and energy ministry officials had been touting the loadsheding hours this year would be limited to 10 hours a day, it is likely power will be cut for as long as 18 hours a day in the driest season, like last year.

The forecast of NEA officials, who had been banking on India to rescue Nepal from its power crisis, failed as India agreed to supply much less power than expected by the Nepali officials. nepalnews.com