As darkness falls, instead of pushing on towards home and hearth, more urban Nepalis are likely to be tempted to tarry awhile, if not in their generator-powered offices, then in restaurants and bars in cities that will offer them some respite.

By now, we are all resigned to another long period of loadshedding this winter and beyond. We are equally resigned to the incompetence of an electricity authority that has done so little to increase grid capacity or reduce leakage of what little we have that things are bound to get worse before they get better. The irony is not lost on those who are relieved to hear that power cuts may peak at 'just' 14 hours a day.

But there is something that could be done to shed some part of the load borne by all of us, not just those who can afford to purchase generators, inverters and (still not cheap) solar power. If only government showed more imagination than what they have displayed thus far in resolving Nepal's politics, then daylight saving time (DST) could lighten the days ahead.

It has been estimated that if Nepal Standard Time were pushed forward one hour and 15 minutes, then we could reduce our electricity shortfall by about 16MW, and thus loadshedding by about 40 minutes a day. DST would delay the time at which sunset and sunrise occur by one hour and 15 minutes, which would reduce electricity usage during evening peak hours. This would outweigh the increased use of electricity in the mornings

The supply shortfall this winter is 440MW and this translates into 14 hours of power cuts a day. Nepalis are not rioting in the streets only because they have come to expect nothing from the inept government. DST can reduce the shortfall by 15 per cent.

Systems loss and pilferage of mains electricity is at 45 per cent, highest among Asian countries. Cracking down on power thieves alone could reduce losses by 25 per cent, which would be like adding a 150MW power plant. The other reason for the power crisis is our dependence on run-of-the-river schemes. The time has now come to think about storage plants that capture monsoon runoff in reservoirs to generate peak power.

Of course, DST is no straightforward adjustment for a populace unused to it, or unaware of its potential advantages. The benefits would have to outweigh the disadvantages to early risers such as farmers, and there has to be a strong awareness campaign before implementing it.

The reason to go for a one hour and 15-minute DST shift is also to adjust the petty-seeming 15-minute time difference with India to a more reasonable 1.5 hours. And when we do finally get to the point where our hydropower dreams are realised, DST can always be revoked.

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