Nepal Proposes Selling Additional 222 MW Of Electricity To India

Kathmandu, Oct 5 (PTI) Nepal has proposed selling an additional 222 MW of electricity to India as it is facing losses of up to 800 MW daily due to increasing electricity generation within the Himalayan nation and decreasing domestic demand.

In June, Nepal started exporting the total approved 364 MW of electricity to India through its power exchange market.

Buoyed by surplus rainfall this year, Nepal is exporting surplus electricity to India through its power exchange market for the second consecutive year, according to the state-owned power utility body, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

“We are facing from 400 to 800 MW as losses due to increasing electricity generation within the country and decreasing domestic demand,” said Pradeep Thike, Deputy Managing Director of NEA.

'We have asked the Indian authority for the approval of exporting an additional 222 MW of electricity for the last two months, but have not got any response from them,' he said.

By selling 364 MW electricity to India from June to November end, Nepal will receive Rs 4.78 billion, according to the NEA.

Electricity worth nearly Rs 1.84 billion has been exported to India in the first month of the current fiscal year.

NEA started selling surplus electricity in the day-ahead market of Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IX) at competitive rates from June 2.

Nepal became an energy surplus country ever since the 456MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project came into full operation in August last year, the Himalayan Times report said in November last year.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without any modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)