Nepal’s export of electricity surpasses imports from India

Kathmandu / Aug 25: Nepal’s export of electricity has exceeded the import amount in the past two days, which has given some respite to the country from energy trade.

According to Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the country exported 56 MW of electricity to India on Monday while the imports stood at 23 MW. On Tuesday, Nepal exported 50 MW of electricity while it imported 33 MW.

After the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project started full-fledged production, Nepal has been able to stand at surplus in energy trading, probably for the first time in the past two decades. Earlier, Nepal witnessed energy surplus when 144 MW Kali Gandaki ‘A’ Hydroelectric Project started production.

Currently, the country’s demand for electricity is 1,438 MW. NEA has been supplying 440 MW of electricity from its projects and 457 MW from its subsidiary companies. Likewise, the private sector companies have been supplying 508 MW of electricity.

Despite having huge potential, Nepal has been relying on imports from India to meet its domestic demand for energy. On April 28, the landlocked country imported 18.3 million units of electricity from India, the largest amount as of now.