Nepal has shared an understanding it reached with Bangladesh on concluding a trilateral agreement on power trade with India, a senior official at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said.

In early August, Nepal and Bangladesh agreed that Nepal Electricity Authority and Bangladesh Power Development Board would send a request to the NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) of India for a trilateral power trade agreement to enable the export of 40 to 50 megawatts of power generated in Nepal to Bangladesh.

As per a statement issued after the meetings of Joint-Secretary Level Joint Working Group and Secretary Level Joint Steering Committee held on August 10, the two sides identified that 40 to 50MW could be exported from Nepal through the Bheramara High Voltage Direct Current, a transmission line system of Bangladesh.

The two sides had also agreed to take initiatives to reach a tripartite agreement between Nepal, Bangladesh and India to set up a dedicated transmission line between Nepal and Bangladesh using the Indian territory.

“Nepal has sent a notification to the Indian side about the decision between Nepal and Bangladesh,” Energy Secretary Sushil Chandra Tiwari told the Post. “The issue will also be discussed during the bilateral meeting between Nepal and India.”

The next meeting of the Joint Working Group and Joint Steering Committee on energy between Nepal and India has been scheduled for later this year.

On the other hand, in line with the decision of the meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh, the NEA has also written to the NVVN about holding talks for trilateral power trade arrangement between the three countries.

Prabal Adhikari, director at the NEA’s Power Trade Department, said that the state-owned power utility had made a request to the NVVN in late August in line with the Nepal-Bangladesh agreement on power trade. “We have requested the NVVN to take necessary steps on trilateral agreement,” he said.

The NVVN is a nodal agency of the Indian government for cross-border power trade with neighbouring countries. “We have received no formal response from the Indian company,” Adhikari added.

Nepal and Bangladesh plan to trade power using the Baharampur-Bheramara cross-border transmission line, which links India and Bangladesh.

The transmission line inaugurated in 2013 facilitates the exchange of 500MW electricity.

As Nepal and Bangladesh do not share borders and India lies between the two countries, India’s cooperation will be crucial to enable trading of electricity between Nepal and Bangladesh. Officials say a tripartite agreement is essential for this.

“There has been no trilateral meeting but the issue is being raised during bilateral meetings between Nepal and India in recent years,” said Adhikari.

In line with the understanding reached in Kathmandu, Bangladesh raised the issue at the highest level. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during her state visit to India in early September, formally requested India for passage to import electricity from Nepal.

As per the joint statement issued on September 7 at the conclusion of the visit, the Bangladeshi side asked India to provide passage for the import of power from Nepal and Bhutan. In response, India said it already has the Guidelines for Export/Import (Cross Border) of Electricity-2018 that opens the door for a trilateral agreement and power trade between Nepal and Bangladesh.

Officials said there is a possibility of Nepal exporting some electricity to Bangladesh in the next rainy season. “If India’s NVVN agrees to the request of the Nepal Electricity Authority and Bangladesh Power Development Board for a trilateral energy sales and purchase agreement, it will convey the message that India alone is not our export market,” Madhu Bhetuwal, spokesperson for the energy ministry, had told the Post in September.

Though Nepal and Bangladesh have identified the Bheramara High Voltage Direct Current as a route to deliver limited power to Bangladesh from Nepal, it will not be a long-term solution for exporting more power.

Bangladesh has already decided to buy 500MW electricity from the 900MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project to be developed by India’s GMR Group, which has set up GMR Upper Karnali Hydropower Limited to develop the plant in Nepal.

Bangladesh has also agreed to develop 383MW Sunkoshi-3 Hydropower Project in a joint venture between the two countries. There is also a grand vision shared by Nepal and India in which Bangladesh is also a major component in a sub-regional power market.

As per the Joint Vision Statement on Power Sector Cooperation issued in early April during the visit by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to India, the two countries aim to expand cooperation in the power sector to include the partner countries under the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) framework, subject to mutually agreed terms and conditions.

“There is a need for a dedicated transmission line between the two countries through India for trading more power and a trilateral agreement is a must,” said Adhikari of the NEA. “Nepal must request India in the upcoming meetings of Joint Working Group and Joint Steering Committee for opening a trilateral platform to enable Nepal-Bangladesh power trade.”