Nepal exports surplus electricity to India for 2nd consecutive year

KATHMANDU: Nepal has started exporting 39 MW of electricity to India from midnight of Thursday due to the continuous rainfall in recent months, state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said on Thursday.

Buoyed by continuous rainfall this year, Nepal is exporting surplus electricity to India through its power exchange market for the second consecutive year, the state-owned power utility body said on Friday.

Nepal has started exporting 39 MW of electricity to India from midnight of Thursday due to the continuous rainfall in recent months, state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said on Thursday.

“We started selling 39 MW of electricity to Indian buyers from midnight of Thursday. The electricity is generated from Trishuli and Devghat Power Station through Dhalkebar-Mujaffarpur transmission line,” NEA Deputy Managing Director Pradeep Thike told PTI.

The electricity is being exported to India under the Nepal-India power exchange agreement, Mr Thike said.

The power utility body is also in the process of acquiring permission to sell 144 MW of electricity from the Kaligandaki Hydroproject, by which it would be able to export additional power from Saturday, Mr Thike explained.

On April 6, India allowed the NEA to sell additional 325 MW of electricity generated from four hydel projects—Kali Gandaki (144MW), Middle Marsyangdi (70MW), and Marsyangdi (69MW) — all developed by the NEA, and Likhu 4 Hydropower Project with 52.4MW capacity, developed by the private sector.

This is the second year in a row that the Himalayan nation is selling electricity to India through its exchange market.

NEA had traded 39 MW power generated from the same hydropower projects, 24 MW from Trishuli hydropower and 15 MW from Devighat powerhouse, in the IEX in November.

However, it halted the export of electricity to India due to the shortage of power in the Himalayan nation during the dry season.

With the onset of monsoons, hydropower plants in Nepal have been producing excess electricity from the elevated water levels in the Himalayan rivers.

Last month, it had invited bids from Indian companies to sell its 200MW surplus energy in the upcoming monsoon season under a long-term power purchase agreement.

During the recent visit of Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to India, Nepal had received approval from the Indian side to export up to 364 MW of electricity to the Indian energy market.

The IEX under India's Power Ministry had granted NEA permission to supply additional 326 MW to be traded in the Indian power-exchange market.

Nepal will be able to export electricity to India till mid-November, and based on the existing arrangements, it can earn up to NPR 14 billion from the Indian market over the next five-and-half month period, NEA officials said.

Nepal became energy surplus ever since the 456MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project came into full operation in August last year, the Himalayan Times report said in November last year.

Are you in Chennai? Then click here to get our newspaper at your doorstep!