The government has decided to remove Kulman Ghising from his role as Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), four months before the scheduled end of his tenure.
The decision, made during a Cabinet meeting on Monday evening, takes immediate effect, according to Balaram Adhikari, Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation.
Ghising’s removal follows longstanding tensions with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Deepak Khadka. The dispute primarily revolves around the collection of electricity dues from industries that consumed power through dedicated feeders and trunk lines during Nepal’s peak load-shedding period.
Read: Is Kulman Ghising's Job Under Threat?
The government has appointed Hitendra Dev Shakya as Ghising’s replacement. Ironically, Shakya had previously been removed from the same position to make way for Ghising’s second term in 2021.
Monday’s decision comes after repeated demands for clarification from Minister Khadka, who had raised concerns about Ghising’s leadership. In his fifth written response in January, Ghising questioned why his previous explanations were deemed unsatisfactory.
“Despite being asked multiple times, Ghising failed to provide a satisfactory response,” Minister Adhikari stated.
Read: Energy Minister Khadka Seeks Another Clarification from Kulman Ghising in a Bid to Dismiss Him
Speaking briefly with Aarthik Abhiyan National Daily, a sister publication of New Business Age, on Tuesday morning, Shakya outlined his priorities: ensuring energy security, eliminating load-shedding in the industrial sector, and positioning Nepal as a net exporter of electricity.
Read: Government Moves to Oust Kulman Ghising amid Legal Uncertainty
Both Shakya and Ghising, however, stated that they had not yet received formal written notice of the decision. Ghising said he was assessing his next steps.
His second term, which began on August 9, 2021, was marked by prolonged disputes between the NEA and industrialists over arrears related to dedicated feeder and trunk line fees.
Widely credited for ending Nepal’s decades-long power outages, Ghising led NEA when it officially declared the end of load-shedding for industrial users in May 2018, a year after eliminating power cuts for residential consumers.
Photo: Sunil Sharma/NBA
His removal has sparked protests in Kathmandu, with various student unions and citizens taking to the streets on Tuesday to voice their opposition.
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This news and the headline has been updated with additional information.
