As fears mount of a possible return of load-shedding due to reduced river flow caused by the dry weather, which in turn affects power generation in run-of-the-river projects, mainly in winter, the government has secured an additional 600 MW of electricity from India.

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, Energy Minister Dipak Khadka told the Post. Likewise, during daytime, Nepal will be able to import the same amount of electricity from 6 am to 5 pm, according to Hitendra Dev Shakya, the new managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

Until now, India had restricted supply between 6am and 6pm, affecting industrial firms. Nepal had hence been requesting additional power from India. With the latest decision to boost supply, officials hope both households and industrial firms will now be spared power cuts.

The decision to import more power from India was made on Thursday, the minister said. “Most probably, from tomorrow [Friday], we will get additional electricity from India.”

As per the latest arrangement, of the total 600 MW, the NEA can import 54 MW in daytime (between 6 am and 6 pm) through the Tanakpur-Mahendranagar line.

“During her recent visit to India, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba had requested additional power supply for Nepal,” said Khadka. “I have also been continuously pursuing this agenda, and the Indian side responded positively and agreed to supply an additional 600 MW,” said Khadka, expressing hope that the country would not have to endure power cuts.

India had previously granted approval to supply electricity to Nepal only from 6 am to 6 pm, starting from mid-March, allowing Nepal to import up to 1,004 MW from the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX). However, electricity imports from IEX were shut off for the remaining 13 hours.

The prolonged winter drought, lack of snowmelt and decreasing water levels in the rivers have severely affected electricity generation in Nepal. According to one official at the Nepal Electricity Authority, when electricity can be imported at night, a bigger part of the peak-hour demand can be met.

In November, India had agreed to allow Nepal to import up to 654 MW of electricity. Industrial firms in Nepal have been facing up to 12-hour power cuts since the onset of winter.

Importing 600 MW at night is expected to reduce industrial load-shedding. “Previously, factories faced up to 12 hours of power cuts at night. This duration will now decrease,” Minister Khadka told the Post. “The rumours that load-shedding will return are not true.”

Moreover, by importing electricity at night, it will be possible to shut down the ‘peaking run-of-the-river’ plants and store water, which can be used to generate electricity during peak hours. Additionally, this will help preserve the water storage of Nepal’s only reservoir-based project, the Kulekhani-1.

Officials at the Ministry of Energy said Nepal also seeks an additional 230 MW of energy from India as per an agreement reached in October. A request for this has been made through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the official at the energy ministry said.

“If we get this additional amount of electricity, we will be free from power cuts round the clock,” the official said.

During her recent visit, Foreign Minister Deuba had reminded the Indian side of the October agreement, but Indian officials had declined to boost supply citing pending approval from its Central Electricity Authority.

The government and the NEA are working to procure energy from the Indian Energy Exchange to meet the demands of the industrial sector as Nepal currently receives most of its power imports only during.

This plan increases the total electricity import window to 16 hours from existing 12 hours, said officials at the Ministry of Energy.

They said India made this new arrangement as part of its Neighbourhood First policy although demand for electricity is also high in India.

“There were rumors that India would not supply more energy to Nepal due to strained political relations between Prime Minister KP Oli and the Indian establishment, and owing to the fact that Kulman Ghising was sacked as Managing Director of NEA. This thesis was proven wrong within 24 hours,” an official at the energy ministry said.

The energy crisis is not related to any person and as a gesture of its friendly ties with Nepal, according to the same official, the government of India agreed to supply additional power.

As per the power utility, the national peak demand on Thursday stands 1,977 MW. According to the Department of Electricity Development, Nepal’s total installed capacity from projects above 1 MW stood at 3,324.5 MW as of March 24. However, generation drops to around 700-800 MW during the winter.