KATHMANDU, June 3: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has started exporting 39 MW of electricity to India with the onset of monsoon. The NEA has started exporting electricity generated in Nepal to India from Wednesday midnight. NEA has exported 39 MW of surplus electricity to India.
Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai, spokesperson for the NEA, said that Nepal has started exporting 39 MW of electricity from Wednesday midnight. "The NEA has put electricity on sale every 15 minutes in IEX, India's competitive energy exchange market, from Wednesday midnight," he said.
"We have been sending electricity generated from Trishuli and Devighat hydropower projects to India," he said. At present, NEA and private sector hydropower companies are generating 1,350 to 1,400 MW of electricity.
Nepal starts exporting 364 MW of electricity to India
Spokesperson Bhattarai said that NEA has been selling electricity at INR 6.28 per unit while exporting electricity to India. Sometimes, NEA has been receiving a maximum of Rs 12. Nepal has received the approval to sell 364 MW of electricity at competitive rates in the Indian energy market.
NEA on November 1 had got the permission to export 15 MW of electricity generated from Devighat Hydropower Project and 24 MW of electricity generated from Trishuli Hydropower Project to the Indian energy market during the rainy season. Similarly, NEA had received permission to sell an additional 325 MW of electricity to India on April 6.
According to NEA, 144 MW of electricity from Kaligandaki Hydropower Project, 70 MW from the Middle Marsyangdi Hydropower Project, 69 MW from Marsyangdi Hydropower Project and 52 MW from Likhu Hydropower Project will be exported to India during monsoon.
Nepal will export the electricity through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV interstate transmission line during the rainy season. NEA had imported electricity worth Rs 13.42 billion from India in the fiscal year 2019/20. Similarly, NEA had imported electricity worth Rs 21.39 billion in the fiscal year 2020/21.
NEA had projected to import electricity worth Rs 12.40 billion in the current fiscal year. But recently, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission of India has made an arrangement not to charge more than Rs 12 per unit for electricity. NEA has projected to import electricity worth Rs 10 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.
