Nepal sparks into life after power shift

Energy chief's policies paying off following decades of underinvestment

The continuous whirl of hair dryers is a novel sound at the Blush Beauty Point parlor in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, which until just five months ago had to close at regular intervals because of power cuts.

Scheduled power cuts - known as load-shedding - have been a part of daily life in the impoverished landlocked country for decades, forcing small businesses to rely on expensive generators or simply close when the lights went out.