In a record import, Nepal Oil Corporation, the government-run fuel distribution monopoly, bought nearly 50,000 tons of liquified petroleum gas (cooking gas) in December 2021.
Last month, Nepal imported 49,804 tons of LPG, and this is the biggest amount of cooking gas the country has ever imported in a month, informs the NOC spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya.
The amount is 4,155 tons more than the import of the previous month (November 2021), but it is 8,995 tons more than the amount received exactly a year ago (December 2020).
Stakeholders have blamed the government’s apathy in promoting the consumption of electricity produced within Nepal for the increasing import of gas.
Energy expert Jagannath Shrestha says Nepali policymakers have already prioritised investments in hydropower, but they are yet to pay attention to the building of infrastructures required to distribute electricity.
He says unexpected power cuts during peak hours due to heavy loads on under-capacity distribution equipment have also forced the consumers to think that they do not have any alternative to the LP gas.