NEA receives permission to sell electricity in India's real-time market

Published On: September 30, 2023 07:24 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Sept 30: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission from India for the first time to sell electricity in India's Energy Exchange (IX) real-time market. Until now, NEA has been selling electricity in India’s day-ahead competitive market through a bidding process. Now on, it will be able to participate in the bidding process one hour and 15 minutes before selling the electricity in the real-time market.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) of India under the Ministry of Electricity granted approval to the Nepal Electricity Authority to sell electricity in the real-time market on Saturday.

On July 31, the Ministry of Electricity of India amended the procedures of the bodies designated for approval and facilitation of electricity import and export (cross border) to allow the authorized bodies of its neighboring countries to participate in the real-time market.

In the first phase, the CEA of India has allowed the sale of about 44 MW of electricity generated by the 19.4 MW Lower Modi and 24.25 MW Kabeli B1 hydropower projects in the real-time market.

The electricity of both these projects was now being sold in the day-ahead market. The permission to sell electricity in the day-ahead market was due to expire on Saturday. Prabal Adhikari, director of the Power Trade Department of the NEA, informed that two projects sent for renewal of electricity trade in the day-ahead market have received permission for sale in both the day-ahead and real-time markets. Now the electricity generated by the two projects can be sold in the day-ahead market as well as the real-time market as per the need, director Adhikari said.

"Earlier, we had to wait a day for importing and exporting electricity from the competitive market, but now we will be able to do business by bidding one hour and 15 minutes in advance. This has made it possible to buy and sell electricity if the electricity production suddenly stops or if the production increases," said the official.

He said that participating in the real-time market is a new achievement for us. According to the NEA, this will facilitate electricity management and add one more brick to the electricity trade between the two countries.

The NEA has been exporting surplus electricity to India during the rainy season. The authority has been selling around 110 MW of electricity to Indian company NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd-NVVN through competition in IX's day-ahead market and recently under a mid-term power agreement. NVVN is selling electricity in the state of Haryana.

The NEA has received approval for the export of 522 megawatts of electricity in the competitive market and 110 megawatts to Haryana for a total of 632 megawatts. Out of this, 562 MW of electricity is being exported through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffar 400 KV transmission line and 70 MW from Mahendranagar-Tanakpur 132 KV transmission line. In August and September of the current fiscal year 2023/24, the NEA exported electricity worth Rs 433.1 million to India.