Last Updated on July 29, 2026
Summary✨
- Minister Timilsina directs immediate, reliable electricity supply for NTC’s mobile towers to ensure uninterrupted service.
- NTC Managing Director Pahadi highlights that 316 towers lack reliable electricity from the national grid, relying on solar power.
- The meeting emphasizes improving inter-agency coordination and establishing a permanent mechanism for electricity access to NTC towers.
- Participants discuss poor connectivity issues, even in electrified areas, calling for improvements in the electricity distribution system.
- The minister urges collaboration among telecom and energy bodies for better infrastructure, including cable management in urban areas.
Communications Minister Dr. Bikram Timilsina has directed the related bodies to immediately ensure reliable electricity supply at Nepal Telecom (NTC)’s mobile towers for uninterrupted service. The minister requested an arrangement that provides inter-agency coordination to guarantee that all NTC sites have continuous power supply. The minister issued the directive at a discussion today at the Ministry of Communications.
The meeting had the participation of Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sangeeta Pahadi, Nepal Electricity Authority’s Distribution and Consumer Services Directorate Chief Rajan Dhakal, Alternative Energy Promotion Centre Executive Director Navaraj Dhakal, and other officials.
During a network outage, the towers run on backup, but not every mobile tower has it. And if the power outage lasts a few hours, the tower runs out of power source, and that disconnects the service. As a result, users suffer from poor to no network signals, call disconnection, distorted voice, SMS not reaching the desired recipient, and all sorts of other issues. This is why the communication minister Timilsina has called for a reliable power supply at every NT mobile tower.
The participants in the meeting discussed problems affecting telephone and internet services in various parts of the country due to the lack of a reliable power supply at NTC’s mobile towers and other telecommunications equipment.
Minister Timilsina emphasized that providing citizens with high-quality and reliable telecommunications services is the government’s responsibility. He instructed various bodies to move beyond merely identifying problems and instead work in a result-oriented manner.
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Minister Timilsina requests electricity for all NTC mobile towers
The minister also directed NTC, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), and the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) to establish a permanent coordination mechanism to extend electricity access to NTC towers. He instructed them to form a joint task force and proceed with a clear action plan.
“Many of today’s problems are the result of weak inter-agency coordination in the past. From now on, each agency should designate a focal person for regular coordination. The ministry is ready to provide the necessary policy-level support,” Minister Timilsina said.
The minister expressed the commitment that both the communication ministry and the Ministry of Energy are committed to supplying electricity to all telecom towers through the national grid wherever feasible. He instructed NTC to provide NTA with accurate data on towers that still lack grid electricity so that power expansion can be prioritized accordingly.
But it also came under discussion that some areas with electricity also suffer from poor connectivity, owing to poor voltage. To address this, the minister called for the improvement of the electricity distribution system.
He also called for closer cooperation among Nepal Telecom, the Nepal Electricity Authority, and other concerned agencies to manage the tangled overhead cables in Kathmandu Valley and other major cities, emphasizing that cable management should be prioritized for urban beautification and safer infrastructure.
NTC MD Pahadi stresses power supply for better service reach
In the same meeting, NTC MD Sangita Pahadi said that the lack of electricity is one of the challenges to expanding telecom services in remote areas.
She shared that 316 NTC towers currently don’t have reliable electricity from the national grid. That means they are operating on solar power. She also said that the company plans to build around 2,000 new telecom towers, of which approximately 1,400 will require new electricity lines from NEA. Pointing to the low voltage problems in some towers, she called for the need to address the situation.
Representatives from the NEA assured NTC of full cooperation in expanding electricity access to the towers. They acknowledged that inadequate coordination in the past, with each body implementing separate plans, had contributed to the current challenges.
They have emphasized the need to work multilaterally to ensure that all NTC towers are equipped with reliable electricity. Going forward, they stressed that in the future, planning should be done in a way that electricity infrastructure is developed alongside the installation of new telecom towers.
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