Power surplus Nepal to supply electricity to India for first time
Nepal is a power surplus country for the first time and India is the maiden destination for cross-border power exports, in what could emerge as the second such model in South Asia, after the India-Bhutan deal.
Plans are also afoot by Nepal to sell power to Bangladesh via Indian territory. India recently decided to buy 39 megawatts of electricity from Nepal, from that country’s 24 mw Trishuli Hydropower Project and 15 mw Devighat Hydropower Project. Both projects were developed with India's assistance.
ET has learnt that Nepal will be allowed to export power to Bangladesh at a later stage via India to meet growing demands of the local economy in that country. India has also been studying Nepal’s proposal to sell the electricity generated by two other power projects, including the 456 mw Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, ET has learnt.
Nepal became a power surplus country after this project started full-scale operation in August. Nepal is also exploring the option of selling electricity to India under a long-term power-purchase agreement in the rainy season, besides the current option of selling in India’s power exchange market, sources said from Kathmandu.
Purchasing electricity from Nepal would be less expensive for India with power prices rising sharply here due to coal shortages, according to Nepalese officials. The India-Bhutan cross-border hydel power cooperation has been a role model. Hydropower projects in Bhutan provide a reliable source of inexpensive and clean electricity to India, generating export revenue for Bhutan.
So far, India has constructed three hydroelectric projects in Bhutan, totalling 1,416 mw (336 mw Chukha, 60 mw Kurichhu and 1020 mw Tala projects), which are operational and exporting surplus power to India. About three-fourths of the power generated there is exported and the rest is used for domestic consumption. Last year, India and Bhutan decided on the construction of the 600 MW Kholongchhu Project, the first joint venture hydropower project in Bhutan’s eastern region of Trashiyangtse.
Besides Bhutan's India-assisted Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project was conferred with the Brunel Medal awarded by the London-based Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). The 720 MW Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Power Project was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi during his August 2019 visit to the country. The project will produce clean electricity for millions, adding 44 per cent to the hydroelectric power generation capacity of Bhutan. The move from Nepal was made possible through the recently notified guidelines for cross border trade in electricity by India.
The Economic Times