KATHMANDU, JANUARY 7
The Nepali and Indian officials attending the 11th meeting of the Joint Steering Committee on Power Sector Cooperation reviewed issues such as power trade, implementation of hydropower projects, transmission lines, and cooperation between Nepal and India in the bilateral energy sector.
The meeting, which convened in Chitwan last Saturday under the co-chairmanship of Pankaj Agrawal, Secretary at the Ministry of Energy of India, and Gopal Prasad Sigdel, Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation of Nepal, discussed the progress made in various bilateral committees, including the Joint Technical Team (JTT), according to the Indian Embassy in Nepal.
The meeting took place in the wake of a recently inked long-term power trade agreement between India and Nepal. Earlier, the 11th Joint Task Force meeting on energy sector cooperation between Nepal and India was held in Nepal, as reported by the Indian Embassy.
Both meetings approved the format of cross-country energy trade through 132 KV and lower transmission lines. The Indian External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, and Nepal's Minister for Foreign Affairs, NP Sauda, jointly inaugurated three new cross-country transmission lines with 132 KV capacities on January 4.
These transmission lines include the Raxaul-Parwanipur 132-KV transmission line, Kushaha-Kataiya 132-KV transmission line, and Naya Nautanwa-Nautanwa-Mainahiya 132-KV transmission line.
The transmission lines, adding up to 200 megawatts of transmission capacity, will bring the total transmission capacity between India and Nepal to 1,400 megawatts.
The recently held meeting also agreed to convene the first meeting of the Joint Water Development Committee after achieving progress in the India-Nepal Joint Approach Paper issued during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's official visit to India in April last year.
