Nepal has officially commenced exporting electricity to the Indian state of Bihar. According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the export began on Thursday, with 40 megawatts transmitted through the Kataiya-Kushwaha transmission line in the first phase.

Kulman Ghising, managing director of the NEA, said Nepal has received approval to export 125 megawatts electricity to Bihar. “We have started by exporting 40 megawatts through the Kataiya-Kushwaha transmission line. We have got approval to export 125 megawatts of electricity to Bihar, and we will gradually increase the quantum over time,” said Ghising.

The electricity exported to Bihar comes from three hydroelectric projects for now. Ghising said NEA plans to include additional approved projects in the export process in the days to come.

The NEA is exporting electricity to Bihar through Power Trading Corporation, India, as per a mid-term agreement. On August 19, the Indian Embassy announced that Nepal had been granted permission to export 251 megawatts to India’s Bihar and Haryana states. The Central Electricity Authority of India has sanctioned the export of 125.89 megawatts to Haryana and 125 megawatts to Bihar under mid-term agreements.

Ghising said electricity is being exported through cross-border transmission lines connected to Bihar, specifically Kataiya, Raxaul, and Ramnagar. The current export is through the Kataiya transmission line.

The NEA also sells 109 megawatts of electricity from two hydropower projects to distribution companies in Haryana.

“We were already selling electricity to Haryana. Since this is our first time with Bihar, it took some time to resolve technical issues. Therefore, there was a delay in starting sales despite receiving approval,” said Chandan Kumar Ghosh, NEA spokesperson.

The NEA plans to sell surplus monsoon electricity to Bihar and Haryana annually from June to October.

Currently, about 800 megawatts of electricity is being exported daily to India. “We have just started exporting 40 megawatts to Bihar. The volume will be increased gradually,” Ghosh said. “We are also selling surplus electricity in the competitive market.”

The rate for electricity being sold to Bihar until October is Rs8.72 per unit, while last year’s rate for the 109 megawatts sold to Haryana was Rs8.40 per unit.

The NEA has been exporting surplus electricity to India. With the addition of export to Bihar, 941 megawatts from 28 projects will be sold in the Indian market.

In the first month of the current fiscal year 2024-25, electricity worth Rs4.19 billion was exported to India. Due to reduced river water flow during the dry season, the authority imported electricity worth Rs16.93 billion in the previous fiscal year.

However, 1.95 billion units of electricity were exported to India during the same period, generating Rs17.06 billion revenue to Nepal. The electricity exported in the previous fiscal year exceeded the import by Rs130 million.