A ministry source close to the matter said that Nepal will propose to construct two more cross-border l transmission lines between Nepal and India in the meeting.
Currently, the 400KV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur Cross-border transmission line is the only high-capacity power line for power trade between the two countries which can transmit around 1,000MW of electricity at a time. Nepal and India have already moved ahead to develop the New Butwal-Gorakhpur Transmission Line which will have a capacity of transporting power as much as 3,500MW. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and Indian Power Grid Corporation have established a joint venture company in India to construct this transmission line in the Indian territory. According to the MoEWRI official, Nepal will propose the construction of two additional 400 KV cross-border transmission lines - Inaruwa-Purnia and New Lamki-Bareli, in the upcoming meeting. With more power coming to the national grid in the current fiscal year and next fiscal year, there is an urgent need to initiate the construction of more cross-border transmission lines between the two countries to enable more power export from Nepal to India. "As Nepal will have more power to sell to India during the wet season, reliable infrastructure for cross-border transmission of power has become necessary," said the official. According to NEA, over 700MW is expected to be added to the national grid in the current fiscal 2022/23 while over 550MW is expected to be added in the next fiscal year 2023/24. Officials said it was necessary to export more power in the upcoming days to prevent power from being spilled. India has allowed Nepal to sell 452.6MW of power generated by eight hydropower projects in India’s energy market. NEA exported electricity worth Rs 11.16 billion to India beginning June last year until it stopped the exports in the third week of December last year owing to falling production. Similarly, Nepali and Chinese officials will be holding a third round of discussions regarding the development of the Nepal-China Cross Border Transmission Line in the last week of February. According to Energy Ministry, the Chinese side has already proposed a visit by a Chinese team to Nepal in February. The meeting of the Joint Technical Group will discuss the Ratamate-Rasuwagadhi-Kerung Transmission Line Project. The NEA has already completed a feasibility study of the 400 KV transmission line connecting Nepal and China. According to Komal Nath Atreya, Chief of the transmission line project, currently, an environmental study of the transmission line is being carried out. NEA Engineering Company, a subsidiary of NEA, is taking charge of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project. Officials said the 70km project which can carry 5,000MW of electricity would open the door for power trade between Nepal and China. The proposed 400 kV transmission line from Ratamate (Nepal) to Kerung (China) will form a basis for power trading between Nepal and China in the years to come, according to NEA. “As India does not buy electricity generated by projects where Chinese investors and contractors are involved, this project will be vital for attracting Chinese investment with the objective of selling power to the northern neighbor,” said the NEA official. Atreya said the upcoming Nepal-China meeting will discuss various issues regarding the cross-border transmission line including the DPR of the project, modality of investment, and other issues. The Nepal section of the trans-Himalayan transmission line will have a length of 70 km and 212 towers. The feasibility study of the project has shown that an investment of Rs 13 billion is required to build the transmission line of the Nepal section.
