Nepal’s Udayapur Cement Industries Ltd (UCIL) is facing financial losses due to the irregular supply of electricity to its facility. Power supply was halted 27 times in the internal supply line and 93 times in the external line during the mid-May-mid-June period, according to Republica.

"An hour of power cut in the factory causes losses of over NPR400,000," said Surendra Paudel, general manager.

"When there is a sudden cut in power supply, it hampers the engine on one hand, and on the other it causes disruption in the processing of cement. This results in further losses. Small negligence about power supply costs us a great deal of money," he said.

The company 225,000 bags of cement in the period, worth NPR202.5m. The company expects to exceed its annual production target by 15 per cent, depending on the supply of electricity.