An agreement has been reached between Nepal and India to increase the power import and export capacity from existing 600 to 800 MW through the first international Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV transmission line. This was agreed at the meeting of the Energy Secretary-level Joint Steering Committee held in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India on Saturday. Various other important agreements on international power trade including expanding the power of existing, under-construction and proposed transmission lines were reached during the meeting. Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Madhu Prasad Bhetwal, who participated in the meeting, shared that an agreement was reached to increase the capacity of import-export electricity through Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV transmission line by 200 MW. Similarly, an agreement has been reached between the two sides to import and export 70 to 80 megawatts of electricity from Tanakpur-Mahendranagar 132 KV power transmission. A joint technical team will study possible options for exporting up to 200 megawatts of electricity as well. “India has responded positively to Nepal’s proposal to enter into an intergovernmental agreement to export electricity generated from various hydropower projects in Nepal to the Indian market, also including a specific proposal to export 50 megawatts of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh,” said Joint Secretary Bhetwal. It has also been agreed to set up necessary mechanism to export power from Nepal to the Indian state of Bihar during the rainy season through the existing 132 KV transmission line. Both the parties agreed on the early completion of the construction work of the Indian section of the 400 KV new Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line as the second international transmission line by March 2025.
