KATHMANDU, March 14: Nepal will have to pay an additional 1.5 percent to import electricity from India, after the two countries agreed to raise the tariff for power supplied by plants in several Indian states.
According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the 17th meeting of the Nepal-India Power Exchange Committee, held on March 12–13 in Pokhara, agreed to allow Nepal to import electricity from India’s Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand states for the upcoming year. NEA Managing Director Hitendra Dev Shakya said a consensus was reached to increase the power purchase rate by 1.5 percent compared to last year.
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Shakya led the Nepali delegation, while Vijay Kumar Singh, Board Member of India’s Central Electricity Authority, led the Indian team at the meeting.
Currently, Nepal imports an average of 12,000–14,000 MWh of electricity daily from India during the dry season, from mid-March to mid-May. Shakya said the agreement is expected to ease Nepal’s power supply management in the upcoming dry season.
Under the agreement, Nepal will pay Rs 8.22 per unit for electricity imported via the 132 kV transmission line. Similarly, the cost per unit will be Rs 8.91 for electricity purchased through the 33 kV line and Rs 9.55 for electricity imported through the 11 kV line.
