In a bid to reduce its financial burden and keep the metropolis alight even during power cuts, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has moved ahead with a plan to power streetlights with solar panels.

A solar panel for streetlight would cost Rs 150,000. KMC has allocated budget to install sample solar panels for streetlights.

The KMC has decided to install solar panels under public-private partnership model, under which the private sector will install solar panels and in exchange it will be allowed to place advertisements on lamp-posts. Such solar panels will be installed in the main city in the first phase.

The KMC has published advertisements seeking proposals from interested private companies to install the panels on lamp-posts. Private companies will be permitted to display advertisements of their products on the lamp-posts on which they install solar panels.

About 18,000 lamp posts are in the metropolis but most of them have not been working for years.

Bulbs are missing from many lamp-posts while those still available have not been cleaned regularly.

"We have called the private sector to install solar panels on lamp-posts to light up the city," chief of KMC Ganesh Rai said. He expressed hope that the private sector would install such panels in bulk. The KMC is also ready to install some panels itself to serve as samples for the private sector to understand the business potentials.

"Solar panels cannot be installed on all lampposts at once," chief of Physical Development and Construction at KMC Sanjaya Raj Upadhyaya said, adding, "We are working to identify the streets to install the panels."

He said that millions of rupees can be saved if all the streetlights could be lit by solar panels. The KMC has to pay over Rs 360 million in dues for the streetlights to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

"The KMC has not paid bills for lighting the streets for last 27 months," chief of Account Section at NEA Badrinath Roka said. The KMC has to pay over Rs 10 million every month to NEA in electricity bill.

The Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) used to pay the electricity bill to NEA from the budget of KMC.

The KMC was also in a dispute with NEA and reportedly demanded rental for electricity poles when NEA mounted pressure on the office to pay up outstanding bills in the past.

Upadhyaya claimed that the money saved on electricity bills can be used for the development of the metropolis if an alternative source of electricity can be found for streetlights. With the winter setting in, most of our cities turn dark.