Nepal-India Ninth Energy Meeting: India agrees to buy Nepal's electricity

It has been agreed to form a joint task force to study the hydropower projects to be constructed with the joint investment of Nepal and India. The task force will have a maximum of three members from each country.

India has proposed to jointly build one of the largest projects in Nepal. For that, a joint venture company will be established at the government level. The same company will build a large capacity hydropower project in the first phase.

Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Chiranjeevi Chataut informed that the task force has agreed to jointly construct the hydropower project at the ninth meeting of the Joint Steering Committee of Energy Secretaries of the two countries held here today.

The government-owned Sutlej Power Corporation of India is constructing a 900 MW Arun III Hydropower Project in Sankhuwasabha. The physical progress of the project has reached 50 percent so far. The Upper Karnali Hydropower Project undertaken by the Indian company Grandhi Mallikarjun Rao (GMR) has not made any progress so far.

The meeting of the Joint Board of Directors was co-chaired by Devendra Karki, Secretary, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and Alok Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India. The meeting also discussed issues related to the existing transmission line between the two countries, under-construction and proposed inter-country transmission line, Arun III hydropower and transmission line project, inter-country electricity import-export and other issues, said Joint Secretary Chataut.

It has been agreed to increase the capacity of electricity being exported from the first inland Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV transmission line. At present, 350 MW of electricity has been imported from the transmission line. That capacity will be increased to 600 MW. Similarly, after the completion of Hetauda-Dhalkebar Inaruwa 400 KV transmission line in 2023 BS, the capacity of imported and exported electricity from the transmission line will be further increased.

Joint company for the second interstate transmission line

In the meeting of the Joint Board of Directors, it has been agreed to establish a joint company of Nepal and India by April 2022 for the construction of New Butwal Gorakhpur interstate transmission line. The transmission line with a total capacity of 400 KV is 140 km long. Of these, 20 kilometers are towards Nepal and 120 kilometers towards India. For that, the Government of Nepal will arrange the investment towards Nepal itself. A joint venture of Nepal Electricity Authority and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, Government of India will be established for the necessary investment and implementation model for the structures in Indian territory.

It has been agreed that the approval of Power Grid to set up a joint venture and the implementation of the Implementation and Transmission Service Agreement (ITSA) between the said company and NEA will be taken forward simultaneously.

Optimistic about electricity export

According to the officials participating in the meeting, the request from Nepal for approval of various applications submitted by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to export electricity to India before the coming rainy season has received a positive response from India.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has proposed to sell 850 MW of electricity in the coming monsoon. NEA had exported a total of 39 MW of electricity since last October. NEA has been taking initiative for export of electricity since last year.

In this regard, the Indian side is ready to reach an agreement as per the prevailing rules on electricity trade in today's meeting. After India's agreement, Nepal's electricity will enter the Indian market. NEA has said that about Rs. 5 billion worth of electricity was wasted in the last monsoon due to lack of export opportunities. Similarly, a joint technology team will study the possibility of constructing an interstate power transmission line between Nepal and the Indian state of West Bengal.