KATHMANDU, July 10: Nepal is likely to export 40 MW of hydroelectricity to Bangladesh within a month, the first time when it will be selling to a third country besides India, officials said here on Tuesday.
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has sent a letter to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the government-owned electricity body of the Himalayan nation, asking it to initiate the process of signing a power trade agreement, the NEA officials said.
Necessary steps have been taken to export electricity to Bangladesh starting from this monsoon season, according to Kulman Ghising, managing director of NEA.
The Bangladesh cabinet has already approved a proposal to import 40 MW of electricity from Nepal. The delivery point will be a 400kV substation at Muzaffarpur in India, and Bangladesh will pay the transmission charge for using the Indian transmission infrastructure.
In January 2024, the BPDB called for bids to purchase 40 MW of electricity from Nepal for five years under a tripartite agreement among the authorities of Bangladesh, India, and Nepal.
The Bangladesh authority has notified that it has approved the bid submitted by the NEA for selling electricity.
The tripartite agreement, expected to be signed among the NEA, NTPC Vidyut Nigam Ltd of India and BPDB of Bangladesh, would allow power export to Bangladesh from Nepal, according to NEAs spokesperson Chandan Kumar Ghosh.
The agreement will be finalised soon as all three bodies have agreed on the draft of the tripartite electricity sales agreement,” Ghosh pointed out.
The Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line will be used for the same. The NEA had already submitted the necessary documents related to the bid, including the electricity rate to be sold. The BPDB has informed the NEA of its intention to proceed with the signing of a power trade agreement. “Now the BPDB will furnish the NEA with a draft of the electricity sales agreement, he said.
Earlier on April 17, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen had emphasised the expeditious conclusion of the tripartite power agreement between Bangladesh-India-Nepal that will help Dhaka to import power from the Himalayan nation.
Under the power trade deal, Nepal will supply up to 500 MW of hydropower to Bangladesh using Indias transmission line.
In the third round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between Nepal and Bangladesh in April at Kathmandu, the whole gamut of bilateral relations was reviewed.
In January, Nepal signed a long-term agreement for the export of 10,000 MW of power to India, and jointly inaugurated three cross-border transmission lines during the two-day visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to the Himalayan nation.
Nepal has prepared an energy development strategy intending to produce 28,000 MWs of electricity in the next 12 years; of that, a target has been set to export 15,000 MWs to different countries including India, Nepal media had said then. —PTI
