Energy Ministers from Nepal, India, and Bangladesh are scheduled to meet on July 28 to finalize an agreement on electricity trade between Nepal and Bangladesh, according to Nabin Singh, spokesperson for Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation.
Nepal and Bangladesh have previously signed an agreement for Bangladesh to import electricity from Nepal. The upcoming agreement will facilitate Nepal’s use of Indian transmission lines to export electricity to Bangladesh.
If the agreement is finalized, Bangladesh will import 40 megawatts (MW) of electricity produced in Nepal during the monsoon season for six months each year.
Kulman Ghising, Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), confirmed that all necessary procedures have been completed, allowing the export of electricity to Bangladesh to begin this year.
Under the agreement, Nepal will export 40 MW of electricity annually from June 15 to November 15 for the next five years. The NEA expects to receive 6.40 cents per unit once the export begins.
Officials from the NEA, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), and India’s NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) will sign the agreement at a ceremony in Kathmandu. Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Minister Dipak Khadka of Nepal; Power Minister Manohar Lal of India; and Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Nasrul Hamid of Bangladesh are scheduled to witness the signing ceremony, according to NEA spokesperson Nabinraj Singh.
Following the signing ceremony, joint secretary and secretary-level meetings will be held on July 29 and 30 to expedite the process. These meetings, involving the Nepal-Bangladesh Joint Working Group (JWG) and the Joint Steering Committee (JSC), aim to accelerate the implementation of the agreement.
This agreement comes six years after Nepal and Bangladesh reached an understanding on energy cooperation. Under the new agreement, the NEA will export 40 MW of hydroelectricity to Bangladesh from June 15 to November 15 each year. Nepal is expected to sell 144,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity over five months at a rate of 6.4 US cents per unit.
The electricity will be transmitted through the 400KV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line in India before reaching Bangladesh. The NEA will calculate the exported energy at the Muzaffarpur point and expects to earn approximately Rs 330 million through the sale.
Nepal needs to use Indian transmission facilities as there is no direct link between Nepal and Bangladesh. Energy trade between Nepal and Bangladesh became possible only after India agreed to facilitate the process.
A month ago, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase of Bangladesh approved a proposal to import 40 MW of electricity from Nepal, as put forth by the BPDB’s Power Division.
