NEA resumes power export to India as water levels in rivers rise

KATHMANDU: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has resumed exporting electricity to India as hydropower projects ramp up their generation thanks to the rise in water levels in rivers.

NEA officials say that they began selling energy on the day-ahead market of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEE) from Monday evening.

According to Kul Man Ghising, Executive Director of NEA, NEA is currently exporting around 400 MW. “Power generation in our projects is rising due to the increased water flow in rivers. Not only are we exporting the surplus energy, but our peak domestic consumption has also reached 2,000 MW,” Ghising informed the RSS news agency.

NEA has set targets to export between 1,000 to 1,200 MW of excess energy during this year’s wet season. The utility has already submitted a list of hydropower projects to the Central Electricity Authority of India (CEA) seeking export permission.

The CEA has granted NEA permission to sell 656 MW generated by 15 hydropower projects on the day-ahead market of the IEE. Additionally, NEA has received approval to sell another 110 MW to NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd for a period of five years.