Nepal signs power export deal with Bangladesh, India
Nepal signed an agreement with Bangladesh on Thursday to export 40 megawatts of hydroelectricity annually via India as the Himalayan nation seeks to tap into its snow-fed rivers to power its economy.
Nepal currently has installed capacity of more than 3,200 megawatts from over 150 projects, with over 200 more projects under construction.
“We are moving from the bilateral power trade to a trilateral framework, opening avenues for sub-regional and regional cooperation in the energy sector,” Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) chief Kul Man Ghising said at a signing ceremony.
The agreement was signed with the Bangladesh Power Development Board and India’s NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam, which will facilitate access to transmission lines.
Under the agreement, Nepal will export 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh from mid-June to mid-November over five years.
A start date for transmission has not been specified yet. The electricity will be sold at 6.4 US cents per unit.
Nepal would earn about $9.2 million a year, NEA spokesman Chandan Kumar Ghosh said.
The power will first be transmitted to India’s 400KV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line, with the equivalent then sent on to Bangladesh.
Landlocked Nepal first began exporting electricity to India on a smaller scale in late 2021.
“This marks a significant milestone as Nepal will, for the first time, export its hydropower to a third country,” Nepal energy minister Deepak Khadka said.
Some studies estimate water-rich Nepal could have a total potential capacity of 72,000 megawatts, more than 22 times the size of current installed capacity.
Four in five Nepalis did not have access to electricity at the turn of the century, according to the International Energy Agency, but a dam-building spree has since helped connect nearly all its 30 million people to the grid.
However, conservationists have criticised Nepal’s rush to develop its hydro potential, saying that environmental compliance safeguards are sometimes ignored.
The government approved a new policy this year allowing the construction of dams that could affect previously protected areas, including forests, nature reserves and tiger habitats.
Nepal’s hydropower projects also face the risk of damage from floods and landslides, which are already common and are increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change.
Devastating floods in Nepal last week, which killed at least 225 people, caused damage estimated at more than $18 million to several hydropower plants, according to Nepal’s energy ministry.