KATHMANDU: The government has said that no one will be obliged to pay penalty on electricity tariffs if the consumers clear the dues of the previous three months by May 20.

Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kulman Ghising said that a cabinet meeting held recently decided to waive off the penalty of consecutive previous three months if they pay the tariffs till the given date.

The deadline could again be extended if the current lockdown order was extended to fight against COVID-19.

To implement the cabinet decision taken on March 29, a meeting of the Board of Directors of NEA presided over by Energy Minister Barsha Man Pun took a decision to waive off the penalty.

Minister Pun has also urged the folks to clear the dues through an online system and help in financial risk reduction of the NEA. He has urged the consumers of single-phase meter to pay an equal amount of the previous month in electricity tariffs online.

Likewise, the NEA has decided to exempt two percent if the tariff of the previous two months was cleared by May 19.