A high-level team comprising Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Chief Executive Officer Kulman Ghising has left for New Delhi, India on Wednesday to renew the power purchase agreement with the southern neighbour.

The term of the agreement ends on December 31. The agreement relates to the purchase of 145 Megawatts power that Nepal has been importing from India through the inter-country Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line. Nepal is importing power from India at the rate of Indian Rs 3.60 (N Rs 5.76) per unit.

The NEA delegation which left for India this morning comprises CEO Ghising and spokesperson Prabal Adhikari.

The delegation will hold talks with the officials of the Vidhyut Byapar Nigam, India's nodal agency for power trade, and renew the agreement.

The NEA said that further talks with the Nigam were needed as it has not replied clearly regarding continued power import and the term of the agreement too was coming to an end.

NEA has given importance to the Delhi meeting citing that possibility of power cuts would increase if power could not be imported from India. Nepal plans to purchase around 370 megawatts power from India for this winter. RSS