Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Independent Power Producers of Nepal (IPPAN) has welcomed the long-term electricity trade agreement to export 10,000 MW of electricity in the next 10 years with India.
The two countries signed a Power Trade Agreement (PTA) in 2014. Nepal has been selling over 600 MW to India on a short-term basis during the monsoon season.
Organizing a press meet in Kathmandu on Sunday, IPPAN stated that Nepal can reap long-term benefits from the agreement reached during the visit of Indian External Minister S. Jaishankar to Nepal last week.
Stating that the market for electricity generated in Nepal has been assured, IPPAN has urged the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to reopen the signing of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with the developers. The apex body of power producers in the country also said that the government should be more active in granting licenses to the private sector for electricity export and eliminate hurdles in the hydropower sector. The association has also called on banks and financial institutions to increase their investment in the hydropower sector.
IPPAN President Ganesh Karki said that the private sector can generate 10,000 MW of electricity in five years with the necessary facilitation from government agencies. “The agreement will create new avenues in the hydropower sector,” he added.
Similarly, IPPAN General Secretary Balaram Khatiwada said that it is necessary to establish a special desk to provide services to hydropower developers through a one-window system to implement the roadmap of exporting 10,000 MW of electricity export and achieve the government’s target of generating 28,500 MW in the next 12 years.
Likewise, IPPAN Deputy Secretary General Prakash Dulal said that there has been a delay in signing PPAs for many projects due to the slow implementation of various provisions for hydropower projects by the concerned government agencies. “PPAs for projects with a combined generation capacity of over 12,000 MW are pending,” he added.
According to IPPAN, projects with a combined capacity of 3,000 MW are under construction, while projects with a combined capacity of 20,000 MW are in various stages of study and construction.
