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Nepal to Export 40 MW of Electricity to Bangladesh via India

2024-07-22

Nepal is set to make history next week by signing a landmark tripartite power trading agreement to export 40 MW of electricity to Bangladesh via India. This marks the first time Nepal will sell electricity to a country other than India.

Chandan Kumar Ghosh, spokesperson for the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), announced that the agreement will be signed on July 28. The Power Sales Agreement will involve the NEA, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) of India.

Nepal's Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Dipak Khadka, along with India's Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Bangladesh's Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Minister Nasrul Hamid, will attend the signing ceremony.

The deal outlines that NEA will export 40 MW of hydroelectric power to Bangladesh from June 15 to November 15 each year, with a tariff of USD 0.064 per unit. Electricity will be transmitted through the 400KV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border line, with India facilitating the delivery to Bangladesh.

The energy will be delivered at a 400kV substation in Muzaffarpur, and Bangladesh will cover the transmission costs through Indian infrastructure. NEA estimates that Nepal will earn approximately Rs 330 million from this arrangement.

Last month, Bangladesh's Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved the proposal to import 40 MW from Nepal. Earlier this year, Nepal also signed a long-term deal with India to export 10,000 MW and inaugurated three cross-border transmission lines.