At a time when the government claims to be working toward replacing the use of petroleum products with electricity, citing an increase in domestically produced hydropower, the import of petroleum products has increased by a notable volume in the first month of the current fiscal year.
The records with the Department of Customs (DoC) show that Nepal imported 146,165 kiloliters of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel in the first month of the current fiscal year. The imported quantity was 130,071 kiloliters in the same period last year. Likewise, the country imported 45,600 tons of cooking gas, up from 41,400 tons during the review period.
Despite a rise in the purchase quantity of fossil fuels, the import expenses went down in the period. The country imported petroleum products worth Rs 17.79 billion, a drop of 19 percent, from that of the same period in the previous fiscal year. During mid-July and mid-August of fiscal year 2022/23, the import expense on the product was Rs 21.98 billion.
The decline in the import expenses of petroleum products has been attributed to a fall in the price of petroleum products in the international market during the review period. Manoj Kumar Thakur, spokesperson for Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), said the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market led to the decline in the import costs although the quantity purchase escalated in the period.
According to Nepal Electricity Authority, the country produces more than 2,800 MW of electricity. But the domestic peak demand has hit 1,900 MW at maximum.
Private sector electricity producers have been blaming the authority for failing to build infrastructure including transmission lines and substations, which has led to a loss of around 500 MW of electricity daily.
