Kathmandu: The Nepal Electricity Authority exported electricity worth NPR 592.5 crore to India in the month of Ashwin of the current fiscal year 2083/84. Although the export was affected due to the shutdown of some hydropower projects caused by floods, the revenue from electricity exports in Ashwin this year has increased compared to Ashwin of last year and Bhadra of the current fiscal year.
The Executive Director of the Authority, Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha, stated that despite some hydropower projects shutting down due to floods, the revenue from electricity exports in Ashwin increased. According to him, about two-thirds of the total electricity exported to India in Ashwin was sold under bilateral agreements, and the rest was sold through the IEX. Meanwhile, the export of 40 MW electricity to Bangladesh via India’s transmission system has also resumed.
According to the data from the Authority’s Electricity System Operation Department (Load Dispatch Center), a total of 633,986,008 units of electricity were exported to India in the month of Ashwin. The sale of this electricity generated a revenue of 592.5 crore rupees. In Ashwin, electricity was exported to India through two channels. Under the bilateral electricity sales agreement, electricity was sold to the Indian states of Haryana and Bihar, while the remaining electricity was sold at competitive rates on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) Day-Ahead and Real-Time markets. The Authority exports the surplus monsoon electricity to India and Bangladesh every year after meeting domestic demand. According to the bilateral medium-term electricity sales agreement, electricity is sold to Haryana and Bihar from June to October.
In October 2082 (Nepali calendar), electricity exports to India amounted to NPR 496.3 crore. In the current fiscal year’s September, the export value was NPR 509.25 crore. Accordingly, compared to last year’s October, this year’s October export value has increased by NPR 9.62 crore and by NPR 8.325 crore compared to September. In the first three months of the current fiscal year – Shrawan, Bhadra, and Ashoj – electricity exports have totaled NPR 1,615.13 crore.
The 40 MW electricity export from Nepal to Bangladesh using India’s transmission infrastructure resumed last Friday, Karthik 6. The exports had been halted after floods in the Trishuli River, caused by a glacial flood in the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa on Bhadra 10, damaged the Trishuli and Chilime hydropower plants, which were approved for Bangladesh export. Due to flood damage to the approved hydropower plants under the bilateral agreement, electricity exports to Haryana state in India were also affected.
After receiving approval from India’s Central Electricity Authority to export electricity produced by other hydropower plants to Bangladesh, exports have resumed, said the Authority’s Executive Director Shrestha. According to the new arrangement, instead of Trishuli, Devighat, and Chilime hydropower plants, electricity produced from Solu, Kabeli–1, and Lower Modi hydropower plants has been approved for export to Bangladesh and Haryana. The Nepal Electricity Authority and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) had signed a five-year agreement on October 4, 2024 (Ashoj 17, 2081 BS), regarding the export of electricity during the monsoon season.
ording to the agreement, 40 MW of electricity has been exported to Bangladesh daily for six months from June 15 to November 15 each year. Meanwhile, an additional 31 MW of electricity export approval has been received from India’s Central Electricity Authority. With the new approval, the total electricity capacity approved for export to India has reached about 1,179 MW.
