Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) A day after she returned to Kathmandu after participating in the Raisina Dialogue held in New Delhi, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba on Friday stated that significant steps have been taken to increase the electricity supply from India to Nepal through various diplomatic initiatives.
“During my visit to Delhi this time, diplomatic efforts were also made to increase the supply of electricity from India to Nepal under the existing bilateral contract and through the IEX (Indian Energy Exchange), allowing for longer-duration power draw each day to help address Nepal’s ongoing electricity deficit,” Deuba posted on X.
IEX pioneered Cross Border Electricity Trade (CBET) with the commencement of trade with Nepal in its Day Ahead Electricity Market on April 17, 2021. The Cross border in electricity is an endeavour to expand the Indian power market towards building an integrated South Asian Power Market. The grid connected Nepal and other South Asian countries to participate in the day-ahead Market and Term-ahead Market on the Exchange.
During her visit, Deuba had called on External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, taking stock of bilateral ties and discussing ongoing engagements across sectors. Debua expressed her appreciation for India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy and conveyed Nepal’s continued prioritization of relations with India.
India and Nepal have robust cooperation in the power sector. The cooperation in the power and energy sectors got another fillip with the notification of the procedure for the facilitation of cross-border trade of electricity by the Indian government which enables the export/import of electricity with Nepal.
In 2022, then Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had appreciated India’s cross-border electricity trade regulations that have enabled key partners like Nepal to access India’s market and trade power. He had also acknowledged with appreciation India’s contribution to developing Nepal’s power sector, through capacity building and direct support to infrastructure projects related to generation and transmission.
Last year, EAM S. Jaishankar and then Nepal’s Foreign Affairs Minister N.P. Saud co-chaired the 7th meeting of the India-Nepal Joint Commission, which reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation including developmental partnership. After the meeting of the Joint Commission, several agreements were signed between the two countries, including for Long Term Power Trade.
Under this Agreement, it has been agreed to strive to increase the quantum of export of power from Nepal to India to 10,000 MW within a timeframe of 10 years and towards this end take all necessary measures to encourage mutually beneficial investments in Nepal’s hydropower generation sector and transmission infrastructure.
In November 2024, Union Minister for Power Manohar Lal, jointly inaugurated the power flow from Nepal to Bangladesh, alongwith Fouzul Kabir Khan, Advisor, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Government of Bangladesh and Dipak Khadka, Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Government of Nepal, through a virtual event hosted by the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Government of Nepal.
The historic occasion marked the first trilateral power transaction which has been carried out through the Indian grid.
“The Government of India had announced its decision to facilitate the first trilateral power transaction from Nepal to Bangladesh, through Indian grid with an export of upto 40 MW of power during the visit of the former Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ to India from 31 May to 3 June 2023. During the visit, both sides had expressed their commitment towards greater sub-regional cooperation, including in the energy sector, which would lead to increased inter-linkages between the economies for mutual benefit of all stakeholders,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The start of the power flow from Nepal to Bangladesh through India is expected to boost sub-regional connectivity in the power sector.
–IANS
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