Nepal, India, Bangladesh sign tripartite agreement to facilitate cross-border electricity trade

Kathmandu: Nepal, India and Bangladesh on Thursday signed a long-awaited tripartite agreement to facilitate cross-border electricity trade, officials here said.

As per the agreement, Nepal will export its surplus electricity to Bangladesh via India annually during the rainy season, from June 15 to November 15. Nepal will use India's transmission line to distribute electricity through its territory to Bangladesh.

In the first phase, Nepal will export 40 MW of hydroelectricity to Bangladesh via Indian territory.

The rate per unit of electricity has been fixed at 6.4 cents. From the export of electricity, Nepal will make an annual income of around $9.2 million, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) officials said.

Electricity will be exported to Bangladesh via the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV transmission line, with the metering point in Muzaffarpur.

On December 6, 2023, Bangladesh’s Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee approved to import 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal.

The agreement was originally scheduled for July 28, which was postponed due to political turmoil and a change of government in Bangladesh.

According to sources at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, meetings at the energy secretary and joint-secretary levels were held in Kathmandu on Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare for the agreement.

The MoU was signed in Kathmandu between NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising, NTPC Vidyut Byapar Nigam CEO Deino Naran, and Bangladesh Power Development Board Chairman Mohamad Rizwan Karim, Nepal's Ministry of Energy officials said.

Nepal's Energy Minister Dipak Khadka and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sayeda Rijwana Hasan were also present on the occasion, the officials said.