Nepal can import electricity up to 15 hours daily from India, in an arrangement up from the existing 12 hours.

The government of India has given the approval for Nepal Electricity Authority to import 600 megawatts from Muzzaffarpur–Dhalkebar line for 15 hours from 2:00am to 5:00 pm, said a senior official at the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources. Earlier the approval was only for solar hours.

Also, the government of India has approved the export of up to 600 MW to Nepal via Indian power exchange through the Muzaffarpur-Dhalkebar line from 11 pm to 4am.

“From Friday, we will import electricity from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm [solar hours]. At night, we will be able to import from 2:00 am to 6:00 am,” Raja Bhai Silpakar, spokesperson for Nepal Electricity Authority, said.

For May 1 to June 30, Nepal already has the authorization to import electricity up to 600 megawatts in both day ahead market ( DAM) and real time market ( RTM) during solar hours (06:00–18:00). With 3 additional hours, Nepal can import electricity up to 600 megawatts for 15 hours including both non-solar and solar hours.

This new provision will be able to meet Nepal’s requirement for the months of May and June. Still we are struggling for peak hours, said Silpakar.

During the peak hours, even with the electricity purchased from India there is a shortfall. However, according to the previous agreement, India will now provide a steady supply of 600 megawatts of power.

An official at the energy ministry confirmed that the power import time has been extended to 15 hours.

Nepal has been importing electricity from India during winter, as domestic output decreases in the season due to a sharp drop in water level in rivers. Nepal only has one reservoir type project.

During the agreement reached with India in December last year, India allowed import for 20 hours a day until mid-March and after mid-March to July 1st, it was agreed to export 12 hours of electricity daily (6 am to 6 pm).

Nepal has been purchasing electricity through competition in the day-ahead and real-time markets of the Indian Energy Exchange Limited. Although permission had been granted to import up to 350 megawatts of electricity from India between 6 pm and 6 am through the 132 kV transmission line, the authority stated that currently only 50 megawatts of electricity is being supplied—via the Mainaiya-Sampatiya line for non–solar time.