October 30, Kathmandu - Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal said that emphasis should be laid on the use of electricity.

Inaugurating the electric vehicle yali organized on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Center for Promotion of Alternative Energy today, Minister Bhusal stressed the need to reduce the consumption of imported fuel and use domestically produced electricity to make the national economy self-reliant. About Rs 2 billion is being spent annually on the import of petroleum products and Rs 40 billion on the import of cooking LP gas, she said.

She says there is no alternative to increasing the use of electricity to reduce the growing trade deficit. She opined that increasing the consumption of electricity for industry, transportation and domestic purposes would not lead to wastage of electricity and would contribute to the national economy. Minister Bhusal said that the government has given high priority to the promotion of electric vehicles and the use of electric vehicles should be increased to reduce the problem of climate change and create employment opportunities in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary at the Ministry Sagar Rai pointed out the need for emphasis on the use of electric vehicles by the government, private sector and the general public as electric vehicles are environmentally friendly, convenient for passengers and increase in electricity consumption. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Executive Director Kulman Ghising said that about four to five hundred megawatts of electricity is being wasted daily and charging stations are being constructed at various places to encourage the use of electric vehicles to increase electricity consumption.