Electricity worth Rs. 13bn exported to India in 5 months

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 22: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has exported electricity worth Rs. 13.04 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal year.

According to the NEA, about 1.76 billion units of electricity worth Rs. 13.04 billion have been exported to India from July 16 to December 15, 2024, of the current fiscal year 2024/25. 

The NEA has exported surplus electricity to India during the rainy season for the last few years.

The average rate of electricity exported to India in the five months is Rs. 7.39 per unit.

The Authority is selling the surplus electricity at competitive rates in the day-ahead and real-time markets of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and to the states of Haryana and Bihar as per the bilateral medium-term power sales agreement. 

The electricity trade with India is done in Indian rupees. Therefore, the Authority has earned an income of IRs 8.15 billion by selling electricity during the review period.

The highest electricity export was Rs 4.15 billion in the month of Shrawan (from July 16 to August 16), while the lowest was Rs. 281.4 million in the month of Mangsir (from November 16 to December 15). 

The NEA exported electricity worth Rs. 3.68 billion in the month of Bhadra (from August 17 to December 16), Rs. 3.07 billion in the month of Ashoj (from September 17 to October 16) and Rs. 1.87 billion in the month of Karkti (October 17 to November 15).

Managing Director of NEA Kul Man Ghising said that exports of electricity were affected mainly due to the damage of the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project caused by floods and landslides in the last week of September. The power generation from the hydropower was stopped from September 28.

He said that electricity exports decreased in the following months due to the shutdown of Upper Tamakoshi and the reduction in power production from other hydropower projects with the onset of the dry season, so this year power had to be imported earlier than last year to manage domestic demand.

Currently, electricity export has stopped and import has started, he said.

With the onset of winter, electricity generation of hydropower projects has decreased due to the reduction in water flow in rivers and streams, and electricity will have to be imported during the winter months to meet the domestic electricity demand. 

"As the water flow in the rivers starts increasing, electricity exports will resume. From this year, 40 MW of electricity has also been exported to Bangladesh via India," he said.

"A target to export electricity of round Rs. 30 billion has been set for the current fiscal year. It is seen that the export target will be affected due to the damage to the hydropower projects and transmission lines by floods and landslides," said the NEA.  The floods and landslides damaged the Upper Tamakoshi and other small hydropower projects and the Kabeli Corridor transmission line. 

The flood in Maikhola damaged the Kabeli Corridor, causing the production of about 200 MW of electricity from various projects connected to that line. 

Due to this, electricity exports were affected in October and November.

The reconstruction of Upper Tamakoshi is moving on and will be operational by December 25, while the reconstruction of the Kabeli Corridor transmission line has been completed and has been put into operation. 

As the water flow in the rivers and canals decreases with the onset of winter, the electricity production of the hydropower projects will decrease. Since the production will only meet domestic demand, electricity exports will gradually decrease.

The NEA has so far received approval from India to sell 941 MW of electricity generated from 28 projects in the Indian market under the competitive market and medium-term power sales agreements.