Energy Minister Shrestha appeals to all to pay electricity tariff through digital means

Kathmandu / Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, has appealed one and all to pay electricity bills through digital means.Minister Shrestha pointed out that even in today's digital age, 73 percent of citizens still go to the counter physically to pay their electricity tariff and emphasized that everyone needs to work together to change this situation.He mentioned that for this, the support of conscious citizens is needed.The Energy Minister further said that digital payments save people's time and travel costs, reduce cash transactions, and increase financial transparency and security. He also pointed out that the resources and manpower used in running counters can be better utilized for other necessary customer services.Rs 597.9 million is spend just on running countersAccording to Minister Shrestha, about 73 percent of citizens physically go to the tariff collection counter to pay their electricity bills. The annual cost of operating the revenue collection counters for citizens who come physically is around Rs 597.9 million.He suggested that this expense could be saved through digital payments and that the manpower could be used for other work.There are currently 655 revenue collection counters operating under the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)'s 129 distribution centre branches. Just running these counters costs millions annually.We can now all work together to change the situation where a large number of citizens still have to go to the counters to pay electricity bills. Digital payments save citizens time and travel expenses.