KATHMANDU: India has officially given its approval to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) concerning the purchase of electricity from Nepal. Under this agreement, India has agreed to import 10,000MW of electricity from Nepal in the next 10 years.
According to the Nepali ambassador to India, Shankar Prasad Sharma, the federal Council of Ministers of India formally endorsed the agreement paper on the power trade with Nepal and India shared information about this through the social networking site X.
He said the decision would contribute to accelerating Nepal's economic development and restructuring efforts.
The MoU was initially signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's latest visit to India (May 31-June 3, 2023) and at the time the prime minister termed the moment historic. Energy secretaries from both countries signed and exchanged the document. Following India's latest decision to endorse the agreement, the energy secretaries from both neighbouring nations will participate in a special ceremony to formally re-sign it.
Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Hydro Resources and Irrigation and Spokesperson for the Ministry, Madhu Prasad Bhetuwal said they were unofficially informed about the official decision of the Indian government to endorse the agreement and expect to receive an official confirmation regarding the decision.
With the decision, the door to export electricity to the Indian market in an easy and smooth manner has been opened.
Nepal had been urging for power export to the Indian market in short-term, mid-term and long-term. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has been exporting 452MW of electricity to the Indian Energy market on a daily basis.
Earlier, Nepal and India signed power trade agreement in 2014. The Indian Company, SJVN, formerly known as Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, is constructing 900-MW Arun III Hydropower Project. Although the Indian company, GandhI Mallikarjun Rao, has said it is trying to construct 900-MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project, it has not been started yet.
Similarly, the Indian company has forwarded the necessary processes for the construction of different projects including Lower Arun, West Seti and SR-6.
An agreement has been reached between Nepal and India to construct some projects after preparing joint investments. Nepal has been making preparations to export 40MW of electricity to Bangladesh soon. The private sector has been demanding the government grant permission for power trade. The proposed new electricity bill has made this arrangement.
The Cabinet meeting held on August 29 had given permission to the Energy Ministry to table the electricity bill in the Federal Parliament.
