The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation has awarded a zero score to Kulman Ghising, the managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
Ghising received a zero score based on the performance evaluation for the fiscal year 2023-24. However, the ministry has not officially informed Ghising about it yet.
Ghising had submitted a detailed report to the ministry claiming 98.99 percent marks and including key performance indicators for evaluation.
When asked why he received a zero score, Ghising suggested asking those who gave the score. “Ask the ones who gave the zero score why they felt the need to do so,” he said laughing.
Ghising had submitted an evaluation report on January 9 claiming 98.99 percent marks for the work performed in fiscal year 2023-24.
Officials at the Energy Ministry are unwilling to formally explain why Ghising was given a zero score. However, one ministry official said that Ghising delayed submitting the evaluation details, which were due by the end of Bhadra (mid-September).
“What happens when the exam ends at one o’clock and you submit your answer sheet at four o’clock?” the official said, giving an analogy. “Whether he was being stubborn or looking for an excuse, Kulmanji did the same.”
The official said that since the details were not submitted on time, they were deemed unsuitable for evaluation and thus a zero score was given.
Ghising, on his part, said that the delay occurred because reports from various projects arrived late and compiling all the details took time. “It took some time to gather financial details of all the projects. Moreover, there were problems for a long time due to floods and landslides this time. Files couldn’t arrive on time and led to the delay,” he said.
He added that reports were sometimes submitted late and sometimes early in previous years, too.
The NEA said that Ghising had previously received scores of 94.23 percent and 98.94 percent from the Energy Ministry in the performance evaluations for fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively.
Ghising is entitled to an incentive allowance based on his performance evaluation score.
The NEA earned a profit of Rs 14.46 billion in the last fiscal year.
In fiscal year 2015-16, the NEA had incurred a net loss of Rs 8.89 billion. However, in 2016-17, it earned a net profit of Rs 1.5 billion, marking the beginning of its profit-making history.
Since then, the NEA has remained consistently profitable. Eight years ago, it had an accumulated loss of Rs 34.61 billion rupees. But it has now accumulated a profit of Rs 47.41 billion.
In the last fiscal year, the NEA reduced electricity leakage in the system to approximately 12.73 percent. Until eight years ago, electricity leakage stood at 25.78 percent, while in fiscal year 2022-23 it was 13.46 percent.
Over the past eight years, the NEA has achieved significant success in electrification. In fiscal year 2015-16, electrification coverage was only 58 percent. Three years ago, it was 89.7 percent, and now it has reached 99 percent.
During the last fiscal year’s monsoon season, the NEA exported surplus electricity to India after domestic consumption, earning Rs 17.07 billion.
In the last fiscal year, Nepal exported electricity worth about Rs 130 million more than it imported, achieving a historic milestone of transitioning from a net electricity importer to a net exporter.
Ghising was appointed managing director of the NEA for a second four-year term by a Cabinet decision on August 9, 2021.
Based on the Cabinet’s decision, a performance agreement was signed between the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation and Ghising on January 19, 2022, incorporating various indicators of NEA reforms.
