Infrastructure
Nepal and India have signed an agreement to raise the electricity import and export capacity from 600 to 800 MW through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400kV transmission line.
The 10th Energy Secretary-level Joint Steering Committee meeting at Mount Abu in the Indian state of Rajasthan reached the agreement on Saturday. Several other significant agreements on international power trade were reached during the meeting, including expanding the power of existing, under-construction, and proposed transmission lines.
Madhu Prasad Bhetwal, a joint secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, said that an agreement was reached to raise the capacity of the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400kV transmission line for the import and export of energy by 200MW.
The two sides have also agreed on a deal to import and export 70 to 80 MW of energy through the 132kV Tanakpur-Mahendranagar line. Together, we'll explore the technical feasibility of exporting up to 200 MW of power as a collaborative technical team.
"India has responded positively to Nepal's request to engage into an intergovernmental agreement to sell energy produced from different hydropower projects in Nepal to the Indian market," said Bhetwal, who attended the meeting. “India is also responded favourably to a specific proposal to export 50 megawatts of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh."
The meeting also decided to install the necessary equipment to enable energy to be exported from Nepal to the Indian state of Bihar through the existing 132kV transmission line during the monsoon season.
India has asked Nepal to send a detailed proposal for the long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) that Nepal has taken up with importance. Nepal had proposed a PPA between the government agencies of two countries.
The two parties have agreed that India would finish building the 400kV new Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line by March 2025, making it the country's second international transmission line.
Joint Secretary Bhetwal said Nepal and India also agreed to install two more 400kV international transmission lines across the two countries. The Inaruwa-Poornia transmission line will be built by 2027/28 and the New Lamki-Bareli transmission line by 2028/29.
