Unsung National Hero of Nepal Kulman Ghising

Kulman Ghising

Kulman Ghising came as a ray of hope to the Nepalese people who were forced to live in darkness for decades. He entered the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) as managing director and everything changed. The capital city that faced up to 17 hours of load shedding is now glowing at night. He made an impossible task possible now he is on the road of making entire nation load shedding free. Here, we talk with him about his journey and future plans.

You ended the load shedding in a very dramatic way providing relief to millions of people. How are you feeling?

More than me what people feel matter the most. I did not end load shedding alone and it’s not possible without collective effort either, it’s a team work. Everyone from people to officials, to NEA to electricity minister to government everyone has contributed equally. 

Somewhere ending load shedding seems impossible but you made it possible. What was the formula?

There is nothing like formula. Firstly, you should work from ground level. Management should be strong and you should work genuinely which is very important. We used the available resources and made most out of it. Secondly, we must know how to prioritize the supply of electricity. We should be able to understand, at what time which place need maximum supply or minimum supply. 

Can we see load shedding free country even after your retirement? 

Yes, everything will go on system. After everything is done systematically things will go smoothly. We have plans to eradicate load shedding in long term.

It’s been said Nepal can produce 83000 mw. Is it possible? If yes, how much time will it take?

We have progressed a lot but it’s not possible to produce 83000 mw right away. Within three years, we have planned to generate 1200 to 1500 MW. After that within ten years we are planning to introduce the project of 15,000 to 20,000 MW. But we have to initiate it right away. If we don’t start the project now, then it’s not possible to get that project done in 10 years.

Though we have been relieved from load shedding but the open wire hanging in the road make our city look hideous and has raised questions on people’s safety. When everything will be organized?

Though we have been able to provide quantity supply to some extend we are not being able to provide them with quality supply. In Terai, people face voltage fluctuation time and again. Kathmandu is no stranger to it either. Lights go off frequently. There are lots of technical errors. Talking about the safety, in villages, people and even officials are dying because of open wire. Cities look hideous due to the wire hanging here and there. We must work on all of this. We must provide quality service. We need to build infrastructures. We are doing underground cabling and in addition to that we have introduced (smart meter, smart brake, smart metering) with the hope of improving service delivery.

Tell us about the hurdles you faced on the way of making Nepal load shedding free. 

Ending load shedding was a challenge. We set target and kept moving forward. There were lots of issues that must be taken care of. Firstly, management was not good enough. We faced external hurdles too but we did not face big problems. The positive response we got after making Kathmandu load shedding free supported us a lot. 

Any message to youth

Think positive. There is nothing you cannot do. There is opportunity in challenge. Set the target don’t be pessimistic. Work hard for success. Be dedicated, committed and take ownership of anything you do.

Have you ever considered entering the politics?

Just because people are provoking me I won’t enter the politics, yet nothing is certain. I am fine where I am. I will work from here and deliver what I can.