For the first time, Nepal has started exporting electricity to Bangladesh through India's power connectivity infrastructure. This is being marked as a milestone in sub-regional power and energy cooperation. This incident is the first instance of Nepal's electricity trade with a third country.
Nepal has provided 40 megawatts of electricity from Friday afternoon to midnight. According to the contract, the next supply will start on June 15 next year. Will continue until mid-November. That is, Bangladesh will import electricity from Nepal only during summer when the demand for electricity is high and hydropower generation in Nepal is sufficient.
40 MW of electricity is being exported under the historic tripartite agreement signed between Nepal, Bangladesh and India on October 3. The agreement was signed between Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and NTPC Power Trading Corporation (NVVN) of India. Through this, an opportunity has been created to supply Nepal's hydropower to Bangladesh across the border of India.
Nepal's Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka inaugurated the power export through a virtual ceremony on Friday; India's Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal and Bangladesh's Power and Energy Adviser Mohammad Fawzul Kabir Khan.
Minister Deepak Khadka termed the event as a milestone and a reflection of the shared vision for a sustainable and interconnected energy future in South Asia.
“This milestone is a reflection of our shared vision for a sustainable and interconnected energy future in South Asia,” he said.
India's Ministry of External Affairs termed the agreement as an important step in enhancing sub-regional energy connectivity. According to their statement, the commencement of power supply from Nepal to Bangladesh through India raises hopes for increased sub-regional connectivity in the power sector.
This power supply from Nepal to Bangladesh will be done through India's 400 KV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line. This power export, which started yesterday Friday afternoon, lasted until Friday midnight. Both sides have agreed to trade electricity from June 15 to mid-November every year. At least one day of power export is guaranteed on the opening day to implement the tripartite agreement from this season.
The Nepal Electricity Authority expects the annual revenue from the contract to be around Rs 33 crore. This is the first experience of exporting electricity in dollars for Nepal.
Energy officials hailed the agreement as a milestone in South Asian cooperation. Bangladesh Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan cited Nepal's hydropower as important in meeting Bangladesh's renewable energy needs, where hydropower accounts for only 1 percent of Bangladesh's electricity sources.
