After the production of power in the country increased to around 1,800 MW in recent days, NEA could sell the electricity at night time when energy demand is low. On Wednesday, domestic demand for power stood at 1,849MW because of the hot weather when more power is consumed due to the increase in the use of appliances such as air coolers, fans, air conditioners, and refrigerators.
On May 26, the NEA exported electricity to India for the first time in over five months as domestic power production surged amid rainfall. According to the power utility body, it had sold 600 MW hours of electricity to India in the evening. But the exports were discontinued since May 27 rainfall didn’t continue. “Now, with the arrival of monsoon, I think we don’t need to discontinue selling power to India,” the NEA official said. India has allowed Nepal to sell up to 452.6 MW from 10 hydropower projects. However, Nepal has been seeking approval to export more electricity to its southern neighbor as the country's power generation capacity has grown substantially. According to NEA, the country’s power generation capacity has already reached around 2,700 MW, while the projected peak domestic demand for power in the current fiscal year is 2,036MW. The country’s power generation capacity is expected to rise to 2,853MW by the end of the current fiscal year. By the end of the next fiscal year, the country’s electricity generation capacity is expected to rise further, to 4,507 MW and to 5,251 MW by the end of the fiscal year 2024/25. NEA has projected Nepal’s domestic demand for power to rise to 2,280 MW in mid-July 2024 and 2,568 MW in mid-July 2025. As production is projected to rise sharply, limited domestic demands will lead to surplus power availability in the country. So, NEA officials say that the country needs urgent approval from the Indian authority to prevent power from being wasted. “We have sought approval for exporting power from over two dozen power projects with a combined capacity of over 800 MW,” the NEA official said. The southern neighbor has long been rejecting giving the approval to export power generated by the 456MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, citing the involvement of a Chinese contractor to build a part of the project. “Besides power from Upper Tamakoshi, we have sent requests for approval for exporting power from other various projects but India is yet to give approval,” the official said. India has been delaying approval for selling more power in India’s day-ahead market. On the other hand, the southern neighbor has been ready to give Nepal access to its power market through a long-term power purchase agreement. The two countries inked a long-term power trade deal during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s recent visit to India. “The countries could sign the final agreement for energy trading in the next two weeks,” said another NEA official. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared during the joint press conference with Nepali Prime Minister Dahal that the southern neighbor would buy up to 10,000MW of Nepal’s power in the next 10 years. “The announcement is obviously very good to boost investment and production of power in Nepal but we have to see how seriously India will be ready to implement its own announcement and end red tape in the approval process,” said an office bearer of Independent Power Producers Association Nepal. Since last year, electricity has emerged as one of the biggest export items of the country. According to the NEA, it exported power worth over Rs 11 billion in the last wet season. Modi’s announcement of buying 10,000 MW in 10 years could encourage more investment and more power generation in Nepal. Officials say there is a real opportunity for Nepal to cash in on the Indian energy market considering that the southern neighbor has been pushing for renewable energy.
