India will purchase an additional 200 megawatts of electricity from Nepal. The Central Electricity Authority under India’s Ministry of Power has approved importing electricity to Haryana state under a mid-term agreement.

According to Rajan Dhakal, spokesperson for the Nepal Electricity Authority, approval has been granted to export an additional 199.70 megawatts of electricity from six hydropower projects in Nepal under the new agreement. “Earlier, India had given permission to export 941 megawatts of electricity. Nepal will now export 1,140.70 megawatts of electricity.”

The power authority will now sell 435.2 megawatts of electricity to Haryana alone, up from 235.5 megawatts previously sold. Under the mid-term agreement, electricity will be sold to the Indian state for four years.

The authority said that surplus electricity is sold to Bihar and Haryana during the annual monsoon season after domestic consumption.

“The additional 199.70 megawatts will be sold annually from June 15 to the end of October,” Dhakal said. He added that the rate for this electricity has been set at Rs8.72  per unit until next October.

Last year, 125.89 megawatts were sold at Rs8.72 per unit. The year before, 109 megawatts were approved for sale to Haryana at Rs8.40 per unit. The authority said that buyers would not have to bear transmission line charges, leakage, trading margins, or any other taxes and fees on the Indian side.

The authority said 125.004 megawatts from 10 hydropower projects are being sold to Bihar. Nepal exports this electricity through the Kataiya, Raxaul, and Ramnagar 132kV transmission lines. Surplus power after domestic use during the monsoon season is sold to India. The authority sells to Haryana and Bihar at competitive rates via the Real-Time Market and Day-Ahead Market on the India Energy Exchange (IEX) and through mid-term agreements.

Electricity from 34 projects generating 1,140.70 megawatts will now be sold to the Indian market. The authority said there is a provision to sell an additional 10 percent.

During the dry season, when river flows drop and run-of-the-river hydropower production falls, Nepal imports electricity from India.

In fiscal year 2024-25, Nepal imported electricity worth Rs12.92 billion from India. In the same period, electricity worth Rs17.46 billion was exported. Of this, Rs17.19 billion worth was exported to India and Rs266.98 million worth to Bangladesh. The authority claims that since the previous fiscal year, Nepal has become a net exporter of electricity instead of a net importer.

The authority has been selling electricity from 14 projects in the IEX’s Real-Time and Day-Ahead Markets. According to the authority, this includes electricity from the 23.28MW Trishuli, 14.55MW Devighat, 67MW Marsyangdi, 140MW Kali Gandaki A, 68MW Middle Marsyangdi, and 51MW Likhu IV.

Similarly, electricity from the 21.44MW Chilime, 22.80MW Solu Khola, 24.25MW Kabeli B1, 19.40MW Lower Modi, 32.70MW Upper Kaligandaki, 37.30MW Upper Chamelia, 24.25MW Upper Dordi A, and 34.92MW Upper Balephi A is being sold. Nepal entered the Day-Ahead Market of the India Energy Exchange on May 1, 2021.

Nepal initially received permission to import electricity, and on November 3 of the same year, it entered as an exporter. The authority had earlier received permission to export 690 megawatts of electricity from 16 projects.

Last year, after receiving approval for an additional 12 projects, Nepal was permitted to export 941 megawatts from 28 projects. In the current year, with approval for an additional six hydropower projects, Nepal has received permission to export 1,140.70 megawatts from 34 projects.

Under the tripartite agreement between Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, the authority resumed the export of 40 megawatts of electricity from June 15 this year. Earlier, on November 15, 2024, electricity was exported for the first time for only 12 hours. The agreement with Bangladesh is to export electricity from June 15 to November 15 each year.

The tripartite agreement between NEA, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) of India was signed on October 3, 2024. Before this, the electricity trade was only between Nepal and India.

Nepal’s electricity reaches Bangladesh through the first cross-border Dhalkebar–Muzaffarpur 400kV transmission line between Nepal and India, and the Baharampur (India)–Bheramara (Bangladesh) 400kV transmission line between India and Bangladesh.

According to the authority, 18.60MW from the Trishuli hydropower project and 21.40MW from the Chilime hydropower project, totalling 40MW, have been approved for export to Bangladesh. Both projects have also received approval for export to India. Under the agreement, the authority will receive 6.40 US cents per unit from the sale to Bangladesh.