Kathmandu: Nepal exported electricity worth over $39 million to India between mid-September and mid-October, despite damage to hydropower projects and transmission infrastructure caused by devastating flash floods in August, an official said on Sunday.
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Managing Director Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha said Nepal exported 633.986 million units of electricity during the period, earning Nepalese Rupees (NPR) 5.925 billion, or over $39 million. Around two-thirds of the exports were supplied under bilateral power sales agreements, he said.
The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche in the high Himalayas near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal. The disaster killed around 1,400 people, while more than 5,000 remain missing. Homes, vehicles, roads, bridges and hydropower projects were also damaged.
Nepal has also resumed exporting 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh through India's transmission network. The supply resumed on Friday after India's Central Electricity Authority approved electricity generated by other hydropower projects, following damage to the Trishuli and Chilime plants that had previously been cleared to supply Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Nepal has moved to open cross-border electricity trading to private companies, with the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation deciding to issue letters of intent to firms seeking to enter the sector, The Kathmandu Post reported on Saturday.
Twelve companies, including Nepal Power Exchange, NIFRA Trading and Energy Exchange, Green Energy Power Trading and Trans Asia Power Trading, have applied for the letters.
The letters will allow companies to study potential markets, identify partners and prepare for electricity trading. However, they will not be allowed to sign power purchase agreements, book transmission capacity or use open access for electricity transmission until the necessary legal and licensing requirements are met.
The Nepal Electricity Authority is currently the country's designated nodal agency for cross-border electricity trade with India. The country also exports hydropower to Bangladesh using India's transmission network.
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The Energy Ministry has initiated amendments to the Electricity Act, 1992, to establish a legal framework for licensing private electricity traders. The proposed amendment has been sent to the Ministry of Law for approval and will then require Cabinet endorsement, the report said.
Energy Ministry Joint Secretary Sunil Paudel said private companies could obtain electricity trading licences only after the law is amended.
The letters of intent will remain valid for up to two years, during which companies must submit quarterly progress reports to the ministry. Even after securing a licence in Nepal, companies will need approval under India's cross-border electricity trade guidelines to export power to India or other countries through power exchanges, the report said.
