Nepal Power Exchange signs trading agreement with India's Manikaran Power

Representative energy

Nepal Power Exchange Ltd on Monday signed a trading agreement with India's Manikaran Power Ltd under which it will sell electricity produced by the domestic private sector to India via the Indian energy firm.

Nepal Power Exchange Ltd (NPE) is a subsidiary of Independent Power Producers' Association of Nepal (IPPAN), a non-profit, non-government autonomous organisation which encourages the private sector to work in the area of hydropower in Nepal. This is for the first time that the private sector of Nepal and India have signed an agreement to facilitate power trading between the two countries, IPPAN said.

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The agreement was signed between Nepal Power Exchange (NPE) Managing Director Ashish Garg and Manikaran Power Ltd Managing Director Navajeet Singh Kalsi in the presence of Energy Minister Pambha Bhushal during a programme organised by IPPAN, it said. The agreement will allow Nepal to sell 500 MW of electricity to India in the initial phase, IPPAN said.

Under the agreement, Manikaran Power will invest in 15 per cent of shares belonging to NPE, which is equivalent to NRs 300 million, it said. According to a report in news portal My Republica, once the agreement comes into effect, it will pave the way for the NPEL to sell electricity produced by the private sector via Manikaran Power.

The NPEL now has to receive a licence from the government, it said. As of now, only Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has been exporting electricity to India. At present, the government is preparing to issue licences to private sector companies allowing them to carry out the cross-border power trade, the report said.

Apart from India, Bangladesh has also expressed its interest to sign power purchase agreement directly with Nepal's private sector hydropower producers, it said. Meanwhile, addressing the Nepal Power Market Summit 2022 in Kathmandu on Monday as chief guest, energy minister Bhushal said Nepal aims at exporting its surplus electricity to India by increasing its current electricity generation capacity, which comes around 200 MW in peak hour.

Appreciating the important role played by Nepalese private sector in hydropower development, he said the Nepal government is working towards allowing the domestic private sector to directly sell electricity in the Indian market.