Private sectors to get electricity trade permission: Minister Bhusal

The government is preparing to grant permission to the private sector for trading electric power with foreign countries.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal, said that the Ministry is preparing procedures for the same, which will come to effect in two months' time.

During the meeting with a delegation led by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries including Chairperson Bishnu Kumar Agrawal on Thursday, Minister Bhusal shared that the work procedure is being prepared with thinking of guiding the private sector towards inter-country power trade.

She mentioned, "We will introduce a work procedure facilitating those producing and selling electric power", adding the government would participate in transmission lines as well, and not just in energy generation.

The Energy Minister further said that the government would take special initiative for the export of power to Bangladesh.

Similarly, Energy Secretary Devendra Karki said that India and Bangladesh are two important destinations for power export, adding the Ministry has tried to facilitate power trade activities through separate high-level mechanisms in both countries.

Likewise, CNI Chairperson Agrawal urged the Ministry to create an environment of exporting power produced in Nepal to Bangladesh as there is a high demand for renewable energy in Bangladesh. "Though power export is challenging, there is high potential. The Private sector is ready and capable to work for it. The government should grant permission", he said. Agrawal also urged Minister Bhusal to form a high-level mechanism comprising government and private sector representatives to forward the power export.

Agrawal further said that the mechanism formed with the participation of the private sector would work from government-to-government and government-to-private sector levels for power export.

Minister Bhusal in response to the CNI proposal said that the government was ready to move ahead to export power through the existing transmission lines to India and Bangladesh or make a new transmission line. CNI Chair Agrawal, Vice-Chairs Krishna Prasad Adhikari, and Rohit Gupta, among others, were present in the meeting held at the Energy Ministry.