Employees of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) on Friday announced the fourth phase of agitation against the government’s decision to unbundle the NEA into three sectors (generation, transmission and distribution) through an ordinance, which is under consideration at the council of ministers.

According to, reports, the NEA employees would stage a sit-in programme at the NEA headquarters, various NEA branches in the capital and outside for an hour beginning March 6 to 10.

The NEA Employees’ Union, the authorised trade union, however, made it clear that they would be ready for talks if the government created conducive environment for the same. The Ministry of Water Resources, in a letter to the union on February 28, invited it for talks to sort out the problem.

The ordinance also envisages to creat an Electricity Regulatory Board to monitor the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The ministry has also claimed that the ordinance was prepared only after holding extensive discussions with stakeholders and experts concerned.

Report quoted Kumar Ojha, president of NEA Employees’ Union, as saying that they deserved the right to dissent even if it was approved by the then elected government. “What we say is that NEA’s unbundling will not be instrumental for the development of the electricity sector in the country,” he said.

The country is facing 17-hour long load shedding in a week due to power shortage.