KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 18
The state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has earned a net income of Rs 10.38 billion by trading 1.26 billion units of surplus power within five-and-ahalf months at competitive rate in the Indian energy market Since the electricity trade with India is done in Indian rupees, INR 6.49 billion was brought into Nepal from the sale of electricity, as per NEA.
Also, electricity exported to India every month has contributed in replenishing the country's foreign exchange reserves and helped to reduce Nepal's trade deficit with the southern neighbour.
According to Managing Director of NEA Kulman Ghising, the quantum of electricity being export is gradually decreasing with the power generation from the run-of-the-river hydropower projects dropping due to lower water levels.
"The industries are not fully consuming the power as per their approved load, because of which the demand for electricity in the industrial corridors in the country is not increasing," Ghising informed.
"We believe that we will be able to sell surplus power till the end of December," he added. Meanwhile, the authority has now received permission to sell 409 MW of electricity produced by eight hydropower plants in the day-ahead market of IEX.
The authority had submitted a proposal to the Central Electricity Authority of India for the sale of the electricity produced by nine hydropower plants at IFX.
The source of the additional power supply would include 42 MW Mistrikhola, 24.2 MW Likhukhola 'A', 23.5 MW Solukhola, 22.1 MW Chilime hydro project, 25 MW Kabeli B- 1, 14.9 MW Hewakhola A, 10 MW Lower Modi-1, 29.04 MW Likhukhola A, and 22 MW Maikhola India has approved the proposal to buy electricity generated from 23.5 MW Solukhola and 22.1 MW Chilime power plants.
Earlier, NEA had stated that altogether 39 MW, including 24 MW produced from Trishuli hydropower and 15 MW from Devighat powerhouse, had been traded on a daily basis in IEX since June 2. NEA then exported altogether up to 364 MW of additional electricity produced from six hydropower plants daily to the Indian market through 400kV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line at a competitive rate since June 10.
According to the authority, power is being traded at a competitive rate set by the IEX - dividing 24 hours into 96 blocks of 15 minutes each. NEA had traded surplus power worth Rs 3.88 billion in the last fiscal year.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 19, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
