Kathmandu, July 21 (IANS) Nepal’s private sector power developers on Tuesday lauded the steady growth in Nepal-India cross-border electricity trade, noting that a majority of the electricity exported to India is generated by private sector hydropower projects, said the Indian Embassy in Nepal.
The remarks were made during a meeting between the newly elected executive committee of the Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal (IPPAN), the umbrella body representing private sector power developers, and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava.
In a social media post on Tuesday, the Indian Embassy said during the meeting, Ambassador Srivastava highlighted the vast potential for deeper bilateral cooperation in the hydropower sector. He referred to the Nepal-India Agreement on Long-Term Power Trade signed in 2024, under which India has envisaged importing up to 10,000 MW of electricity from Nepal by 2034.
The meeting comes as Nepal has been steadily increasing electricity exports to India, while private sector hydropower developers are also seeking to enter the power trading business.
Nepal has yet to grant licences to any private companies to engage in power trading due to legal uncertainty. However, more than half a dozen companies have already been established with the objective of trading electricity both domestically and across borders.
The two countries are also working to develop cross-border transmission infrastructure to facilitate large-scale electricity trade. They have also reached bilateral agreements to increase the volume of electricity traded.
During the 13th meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Steering Committee (JSC), an energy secretary-level bilateral mechanism held in Nepal last week, the two countries agreed to increase the volume of electricity traded through two cross-border transmission line projects.
They agreed that Nepal could export up to 1,650 MW of electricity to India and import up to 1,400 MW through the two 400 kV cross-border transmission lines connecting the two countries. The two transmission corridors are the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur and Dhalkebar-Sitamarhi 400 kV transmission lines.
Of the two, the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line has been in operation since 2016, while the Dhalkebar-Sitamarhi transmission line is nearing completion, according to Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.
Previously, the two countries had agreed to allow Nepal to export up to 1,100 MW of electricity to India and import up to 1,000 MW through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line. The two sides also agreed to expedite work on several new high-capacity cross-border transmission line projects to facilitate greater electricity trade between the two countries.
In addition to exporting electricity to India, Nepal has also begun exporting power to Bangladesh through Indian transmission infrastructure, marking a significant step toward greater regional energy connectivity in South Asia.
–IANS
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