India Approves 600 MW Electricity Import for Nepal: Excludes 'Peak Hours,' Permits Only 'Solar Hours'

Kathmandu: In recent years, while electricity management during the monsoon has been relatively smooth, balancing supply and demand during the dry season continues to be a significant challenge for the government. Electricity imports from India have become a critical measure to address winter shortages. This year, India has approved the import of up to 600 MW of electricity as part of Nepal’s preparations to manage winter demand.

Nepal received the approval on November 19, 2024, allowing it to import electricity from India via the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV cross-border transmission line. According to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, imports will be allowed for 20 hours daily from November 19, 2024, to March 15, 2025. However, imports during peak demand hours (5 PM to 9 PM) will not be permitted.

Similarly, from March 16 to June 30, 2025, Nepal has been granted permission to purchase 600 MW of electricity during "solar hours" (6 AM to 6 PM) via the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur line, similar to previous years. This arrangement was made possible through close discussions between Nepal's Energy Minister, Deepak Khadka, and his Indian counterpart, Manohar Lal Khattar, during Minister Khadka’s recent visit to India.

Last year, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), under government coordination, received approval to import 500 MW of electricity from the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) during solar hours via the same transmission line. Additionally, Nepal had secured permission to import 54 MW of electricity via the Tanakpur-Mahendranagar 132 kV transmission line.

Nepal signed an agreement in April 2021 to purchase electricity from India’s competitive market, which has been renewed annually. Meanwhile, during the monsoon, Nepal is authorized to sell 941 MW of electricity from 28 hydropower projects to the Indian market under competitive and medium-term power purchase agreements.

Currently, Nepal faces the dual challenge of utilizing domestically produced electricity during the monsoon while addressing shortages during the winter. This year, many private hydropower projects were unable to resume operations due to damages caused by severe floods and landslides. Additionally, the country’s largest hydropower project, the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi, is expected to take about a month and a half to become operational. As a result, managing this winter’s electricity demand will require significant government efforts.

If planned projects are delayed, domestic hydropower plants like Tamakoshi fail to start on time, and India cannot supply sufficient electricity, the risk of winter load-shedding increases. Ministry officials warn that without electricity from peak-demand-oriented projects like Tamakoshi, significant power cuts may be unavoidable.

However, there is some hope that the 111 MW Rasuwagadhi, 14.8 MW Sanjen, and 42.5 MW Lower Sanjen projects, all under construction in Rasuwa, will ease the supply-demand balance. Wet testing has already begun at Rasuwagadhi, and these projects are expected to begin generation within a month, potentially alleviating dry-season electricity challenges to some extent.

Nevertheless, since these projects are run-of-river (ROR) types, their output during the dry season will remain limited. If electricity imports from India during peak hours remain unavailable, managing winter demand could become critical. The situation is compounded by India’s restriction of imports to solar hours only, raising concerns of a severe electricity shortfall during this year’s dry season.