Nepal to propose India to buy 1,200 MW of its domestically produced electricity

Kathmandu; Nepal is proposing India open access allowing the water resource-rich country to export up to 1,200 MW of electricity to its southern neighbor.

According to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI), a 15-member Nepali delegation on Thursday left for a meeting being organized in Rajasthan, India. In the two-day meeting, Nepal will be forwarding its proposal to its southern neighbor at the 10th Nepal-India Secretary (Joint Steering Committee - JSC) and Joint Secretary (Joint Working Group - JWG) meetings to start from Friday to purshase up to 1,200MW of electricity from Nepal.

As of now, India has permitted Nepal to sell only 452 MW of hydroelectricity produced from 10 different projects by using the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line during the rainy season. Citing that the country will have an additional production of 700-1,000 MW of surplus power in the upcoming rainy seasion, the government is forwarding the proposal to the Indian authorities, according to Madhu Prasad Bhetuwal, spokesperson for the MoEWRI.

Similarly, the Nepali team will also be requesting the Indian side to upgrade the transmission of the amount of electricity that flows through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line. The proposal will include upgrading from the existing 600 MW at a maximum to 800 MW through the cross-border transmission line, according to the MoEWRI. 

The Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line can carry up to 1,000 MW of electricity. The transmission line has not been used at its full capacity so far. However, Nepal has been paying a wheeling charge of Rs 1.8 billion annually to India including the total charge for this transmission line.

The Nepali side has sought to export 800 MW from Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur and another 400 MW to India by using four 132 kV transmission lines connected to Bihar in the coming wet seasion. Provided the plan is materialized, it will respite the Himalayan country from the problem of electricity wastage in the coming wet seasion.

Nepal has aimed to produce 15,000 MW of electricity by 2030. On the other hand, India has set a target of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2070. For this purpose, the use of renewable energy is necessary.

Earlier, both countries sat for talks in the 8th meetings of JWG and JSC, which were held through virtual means during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 9th meeting was organized last year in Kathmandu.