KATHMANDU, AUGUST 19
Nepal is set to export an additional 251 MW of electricity to India following approval from India's Designated Authority for Cross Border Trade. This new export, sourced from 12 hydropower projects, marks the first time Nepal will be supplying power to Bihar under a medium-term sales agreement.
This new approval increases the total permitted power exports from Nepal to India from 690 MW from 16 projects to 941 MW from 28 projects. Even before this latest approval, Nepal had already become a net exporter of electricity, generating net revenue of Rs 16.93 billion in the last fiscal year, according to the statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Nepal.
Nepal began exporting power to India in October 2021, initially selling 39 MW. In less than three years, this figure has increased more than 24 times. Nepal first sold power in the Day Ahead Market of the Indian Energy Exchange, and India has since granted access to the Real Time Market as well. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has also signed medium-term power sales agreements with distribution companies in Haryana and Bihar.
India has also introduced a provision allowing hydropower imports from Nepal to count toward its Hydropower Purchase Obligation (HPO), incentivizing Indian buyers to purchase more power from Nepal, the statement further states.
The Long-Term Power Agreement between India and Nepal envisions the sale of up to 10,000 MW of power from Nepal to India over the next decade. In this first year of the agreement, Nepal has already reached around 1,000 MW in exports.
With these developments, Nepal is on track to become the leading hydropower exporter in the South Asia region. Additionally, an agreement to sell 40 MW of power to Bangladesh has been finalized, although its signing, originally scheduled for July 28, 2024, has been postponed due to recent political developments in Bangladesh.
