Kathmandu- The government has appointed Manoj Silwal as the Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
Sunday’s Cabinet meeting transferred Hitendra Dev Shakya to the Water and Energy Commission and named Silwal as his replacement. Silwal is a former Deputy Executive Director of the NEA.
The decision was made based on a proposal by Energy Minister Kulman Ghising.
Kathmandu – Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and Urban Development Kulman Ghising held talks with Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastav at the Ministry of Energy in Singha Durbar. Ambassador Srivastav congratulated the newly appointed minister and wished him a successful tenure.
The meeting focused on bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, water resources, and irrigation, as well as the progress of projects under Indian assistance. Discussions also covered the Mahakali Irrigation Project (Phase III) and the delivery of water to Nepal through its canal system.
Updates were also provided on the progress of the Rahughat Hydropower Project and the construction of the 400 kV cross-border transmission lines from Inaruwa–Purnia and New Lamki–Bareilly. The study on the Indian side has already been completed, officials confirmed.
Minister Ghising urged India to approve additional electricity exports during the Dashain and Tihar festivals, when domestic demand falls due to industry and factory closures. Nepal currently has approval to export 1,165 MW of electricity to India and Bangladesh, and has proposed to export an additional 138 MW from four new projects.
Ambassador Srivastav also expressed India’s readiness to support the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged during the recent Gen-Z protests in Nepal.
Kathmandu – A government formed committee has recommended that the private sector be allowed to participate in electricity trade in Nepal. The recommendation was submitted to Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Deepak Khadka, by the Electricity Trade Study and Recommendation Committee led by former Energy Secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire.
The committee, formed on July 10 with the mandate to study electricity trade including private sector involvement, concluded that private companies should also be granted licenses for electricity trading.
According to the report, the private sector has played a significant role in electricity generation in Nepal. However, its contribution has so far been limited to production. The committee noted that involving private entities in electricity trade has become necessary to further develop the energy sector.
The report highlighted that the absence of adequate legal provisions has prevented private participation in electricity trading until now. It mentioned that the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, 2017 already provides a regulatory framework for licensed entities, while the Electricity Bill, 2080 BS , currently under consideration in the federal parliament, seeks to amend and integrate existing laws to address electricity trade more comprehensively.
With rising electricity production, the committee stressed that involving the private sector in electricity trading is essential to manage domestic demand and supply, as well as to export surplus electricity to neighboring countries.
Kathmandu- Nepal’s power generation capacity has reached 3,878 MW, a major milestone in the country’s energy sector.
Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka announced this at a press conference recently.
Addressing a program organized to mark the completion of his first year in office, the minister said that 631 MW of new power generation was added to the national grid last year alone.
Minister Khadka emphasized that the increased capacity has enabled Nepal to export additional power, of which more than 800 MW is being sold to India and Bangladesh daily. He also said that Nepal has received approval to export 941 MW to India and import 1,000 MW under a bilateral agreement. In addition, Bangladesh has started dollar-based electricity exports, of which 40 MW has already been supplied, generating an estimated revenue of Rs 1.25 billion within five months.
The Ministry of Energy presented the Energy Development Roadmap 2081, which sets an ambitious target of generating 28,500 MW of electricity by 2035, requiring a fiscal plan of $46.5 billion. Under this roadmap, Nepal aims to export 15,000 MW to India and Bangladesh, while retaining 13,500 MW for domestic consumption.
The minister briefed the meeting on progress in policy and infrastructure, including the installation of 397 kW of small hydropower projects, 603 kW of solar power systems, 3,584 biogas plants, and 4,142 domestic solar systems.
Kathmandu – The hearing on the writ petition against Kulman Ghising, the Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, is being held today.
Hitendra Man Shakya had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court alleging that he was removed from his position and Kulman was appointed as the Executive Director of the Authority.
After the initial hearing of the writ petition filed three and a half years ago was on pending and the case scheduled for presentation was postponed several times, but after the Supreme Court issued a priority order to give priority to that case the hearing has been moved forward.
He has demanded an order to remove Ghising from the post and reinstate him in the same post.
Kathmandu. The Nepal-India Joint Technical Committee (JTT) and Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings on energy, which have not been held for a year, are scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India on January 21 and 22 .
Earlier, the JWG meeting was held on January 2 last year, while the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) meeting led by the Secretary was held on January 3, 2024.Although the meetings of these mechanisms between Nepal and India are supposed to be held every six months, they are going to be held only after a year.
Senior energy expert Prabal Adhikari of the Ministry of Energy informed that the current meeting will mainly discuss the construction of two high-voltage transmission lines to be built between Nepal and India and the finalization of the investment format.
On 21 Poush last year, the Nepal and India Energy Secretary-level Steering Committee held in Chitwan agreed to complete the third largest Inaruwa-Purnia 400 kV cross-border transmission line between the two countries in 2027/28.
Similarly, it was agreed to complete another cross-border transmission line of the same capacity, the Lamki (Dododhara)-Bareilly transmission line, in 2028/29. However, in that meeting, there was no agreement on the construction format and investment format for these two transmission lines.
In the meeting, Nepal had proposed to construct these two transmission lines in the same modality as the Butwal-Gorakhpur 400 kV cross-border transmission line. The Nepalese side of the transmission line is being constructed by Nepal itself, while the Indian side is being constructed by a company that is jointly owned by the Nepal Electricity Authority and the Transmission Grid Company of India.
The use and rental (wheeling charge) of this transmission line has been fully paid by the Electricity Authority under a 25-year Implementation and Transmission Service Agreement (ITSA).India, however, had proposed a modality in which India would build the section on the Indian side and Nepal would build the section on the Nepal side.
Nepal had informed that if the transmission line is not built in the model proposed by it, the wheeling charge authority would pay only the amount of electricity flowing in the transmission line, and it would not be possible to book it in a way that it would bear the entire cost for 25 years. The committee meeting to be held in New Delhi on the 22nd will focus on finalizing this modality.
Before that, the joint technical committee meeting to be held in India on the 21st will discuss the issue of increasing the import and export volume of electricity through the Nepal-India Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line, the issue of electricity that can be exchanged through the Dhalkebar-Sitamarhi 400 kV transmission line being built by the Indian company SJVN, and the issue of import and export of electricity through the Tanakpur-Mahendranagar 132 kV line.
Since Nepal did not accept India’s proposal, the Indian side has said that it can proceed with some amendments to the modality proposed by Nepal.
According to the recent proposal made by India, companies will be established in both countries to build the cross-border transmission line. The company established in India will have 51 percent shares of the Indian Power Grid Corporation and 49 percent of the Nepal Electricity Authority, which will build the Indian section of the line.
Similarly, a company established in Nepal will build the Nepalese portion of the transmission line, in which the Electricity Authority will own 51 percent of the shares and the Indian corporation will own 49 percent.
“Since it is sometimes difficult to make decisions in a company with equal shares, Nepal has also positively accepted the 51-49 proposal made by the Indian side,” said the source. “There is a possibility that its modalities will be finalized in that case.”The source also said that there is a possibility of an agreement being reached to have 20 percent equity in the companies established on both sides and provide 80 percent loan.“There is an agreement to give priority to concessional loans even when taking loans and only go for commercial loans if that is not available,” he said.
Currently, only the 400 kV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line is operational between Nepal and India, through which Nepal is importing 600 MW.
The Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line of the same capacity is under construction. The target is to complete the construction of this transmission line by 2025. Out of this, the 18-kilometer transmission line on the Nepal side is being constructed with a grant from MCC, while the one on the Indian side is being constructed by a joint venture company of the two countries.
Apart from these two transmission lines, which are planned to be completed in 2028 and 29, the agenda of this meeting is to study the feasibility of transmission lines including Lucknow-Lamahi, Kisaganj/Purnia-Anarmani, Nijgadh-Motihari.Similarly, the meeting will also discuss the progress of the work being done on the construction of the Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line.In addition, the meeting will also discuss how the 400 kV Dhalkebar-Sitamarhi transmission line being constructed by the Arun III Project can be used for Nepal-India electricity import and export.
Kathmandu – Nepal Electricity Authority Executive Director Kulman Ghising has filed a ‘note of dissent’ against the latest decision of the Authority Board to provide resources and data to the ministry-formed committee.
A three-member committee was formed under the leadership of Energy Minister Deepak Khadka and coordinated by Arvind Kumar Mishra to study the billing dispute of dedicated feeders and trunk lines. The Authority has been saying that such committees should be established by the Electricity Regulatory Commission. Opposing the said move, NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising submitted a note of dissent in a meeting held on Tuesday. Supported by board members Ratan Iyer and Bharat Acharya, Ghising expressed concern and interest about the legitimacy of the committee.
The dispute arose due to a long-standing dispute between the Authority and industrialists regarding payments due to NEA. The Authority has opposed providing data and facilities to the committee formed by the ministry, citing procedural irregularities.
An official of the Electricity Authority has said that India does not want to involve Nepal in the construction of two new international transmission lines.
As Nepal has proposed to construct 400 kV Inaruwa (Duhabi-Purnia, Bihar) and 400 kV New Lamki (Dodhara-Bareli, Uttar Pradesh) cross-border lines through joint investment between the two countries, Indian side has proposed to construct the Indian section by India itself and Nepal’s section by Nepal itself. The head of the Broadcasting Directorate of the Electricity Authority, Dirghayu kumar Shrestha said.
In the 11th meeting of the Joint Secretary-level Joint Working Group (JWG) and Joint Secretary-level Steering Committee (JSC), the discussions held by both sides ended without any concrete conclusion. It has been agreed between the two countries to complete the construction of Duhavi-Purnia by 2027-2028 and Dodhara-Bareli power lines by 2028-2029.
Authority officials said that it was not immediately clear why the Indian side did not want to jointly build the project.
400 KV Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line has been established in collaboration with the Authority and the Indian Power Grid Corporation of India to construct the Indian section.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the 400 KV inter-country power line during their visit to Delhi.
The two countries have agreed to build a 120-km power line by March 2025, but authority officials say it will be challenging to complete the task within the deadline. The Nepal section of this line, which is about 20 kilometers long, will be invested by Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact.
Nepal also proposed the same modality for the construction of two other transmission lines.
After the Indian side rejected the proposal, Nepal informed the Indian side that it will not unilaterally book the capacity of this transmission line for 25 years as in the case of Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line.
Capacity booking forces Nepal to pay the minimum fee even if there is no power flow on the transmission line. “We proposed to the Indian side to pay the wheeling charge based on the power flow only if they do not adopt the Butwal-Gorakhpur power line modality,” said Shrestha.
Nepal had agreed to book capacity on the Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line as it needed this cross-border line to sell more electricity to its southern neighbour.
“Despite bearing certain financial burden due to capacity booking, in the case of Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line, the profit of the joint venture will also be shared with the Authority as a partner”, said Shrestha.
Kathmandu – The Nepal government has started the final process of exporting 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh from the coming monsoon.
The Economic Affairs Committee of the Bangladesh Council of Ministers decided to purchase 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal on last December. According to the said decision, Bangladesh had sent a letter to Nepal to send a proposal for sale by prioritizing the price. After the correspondence from Bangladesh, the official of Nepal Electricity Authority has gone to Bangladesh with the tariff rate.”Bangladesh will send a reply based on our proposal,” Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet said.
Kulman Ghisingh, Executive Director of Electricity Authority, said that since the business is going to be done with Bangladesh for the first time, the reasonable price has been offered. “We have sent a proposal that is close to the rate we are doing with India,” he said. Ghising says that an engineer from the Electricity Trade Department sent from Nepal will register the sealed file with the price in the Power Development Board of Bangladesh within 4 days. If something has to be arranged, we will arrange it, otherwise there will be an agreement,” he said.
Bangladesh will take Nepal’s electricity using Indian transmission lines. In the Nepal-India secretary level meeting held last February, India has already said that it will send the name of the project and allow it. According to the authority, the power trading with Bangladesh will be done through the Indian power trading company NTPC Vidyut Vyar Nigam. Ghisingh, executive director of the authority, said that the necessary understanding for a tripartite agreement has been reached with NTPC Electricity Trading Corporation, Nepal Electricity Authority and Power Development Board of Bangladesh.
‘After the tripartite agreement, Nepal will export electricity to Bangladesh via India,’ he said, ‘Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Nepal’s electricity will reach Bangladesh from the coming monsoon.’
Electricity will be sold to Bangladesh by paying a ‘billing charge’ to India. The fee paid for using the transmission line is the ‘Billing Charge and the billing charge will be paid by Bangladesh. Recently, a long-term electricity trade agreement has been signed with India to export 10,000 megawatts of electricity in 10 years.
Kathmandu, April 24: Nepal Electricity Authority has said that the power cuts in the industrial sector is only a short-term problem.
Kulman Ghising, managing director of the authority, said that the problem in power supply has badly affected the industrial corridors in eastern Nepal. According to him, due to the weak transmission capacity of the cross-border transmission line during the dry season, it has become a problem to import enough electricity.
After the decline in domestic production, the Authority has been importing an average of 500 MW of electricity from India every day. Ghising said that about 400 MW of electricity is being imported from the transmission lines of Dhalkebar and Tanakpur and another 100 MW of electricity is being supplied from the infrastructure in Raxaul, Ramnagar and Kataiya.
After the decline in electricity supply, industrialists of Biratnagar have also protested against the state-owned electricity authority. Morang Traders Association, an umbrella organization of the private sector, has alleged that the irresponsible action of the authority has caused a huge financial loss.
On the other hand, the authority has said that due to a significant decrease in domestic electricity production, the electricity supply had to be stopped. According to Ghisingh, the power generation has reached only 30.35 percent of the actual installed capacity. The local power house has been supplying only 700 megawatts of electricity, while we are importing about 500 megawatts from India.
The authority’s records show that currently the maximum demand for electricity is 1,700 MW, while the average demand is 1,300 MW. Ghising said that the demand for industrial units has increased this year after the authority approved an additional 800 MW this year.
Meanwhile, the authority aims to export up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity to India in the coming year.
The Nepal Electricity Authority has received permission to export 22 MW of electricity to India.
The Nepal Electricity Authority has said that 22 megawatts of electricity produced by Chilime Hydropower Company Limited will be exported to India. According to the authority, 386 megawatts of electricity will be exported to India every day, including Chilime. The Nepal Electricity Authority had already offered to sell an additional 100.9 megawatts of monsoon electricity consumed domestically in the day-ahead market of the Indian Energy Exchange Limited through competition.
The Authority has started selling the excess electricity consumed within the country through competition in the day-ahead market of the Indian Energy Exchange Limited from last 19thJestha 2079 BS. and has also advanced the electricity export process of the hydropower projects built by the private sector.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Armed Police Force and the Nepal Electricity Authority regarding the construction and operation of an electric vehicle charging station.
The MoU was signed by Inspector General Raju Aryal on behalf of the Armed Police Force and Executive Director Kulman Ghising on behalf of the Authority in a program held at the Armed Police Headquarters Halchok on Friday.
According to the MoU, charging stations will be established at 17 locations including 2 petrol pumps currently operated by the Armed Police Welfare Center and 15 suitable locations of Armed Police offices. The charging station will be operated under the welfare fund in the long run.
According to the MoU, the authority will purchase all the equipment and build the infrastructure of the charging station at its own expense. Repair and regular servicing of the equipment will also be done by the authority itself. The Armed Police will provide a suitable location for the construction of the infrastructure and after construction, will operate and protect the charging station. It has been arranged that charging stations cannot be allowed to be operated by third parties/organizations.
While operating the charging station, the authority should make arrangements to allow the general public to use it easily at the rate determined by the authority. The authority will collect the fee paid by the consumer while charging the vehicle. According to the provisions of the Electricity Distribution Regulations, the Welfare Center of the Armed Police will receive 50 percent of the total profit from the electricity tariff rate as operating and management expenses of the charging station.
The authority is constructing the stations that can charge quickly at 51 locations across the country to encourage the use of electric vehicles. Every charging station being constructed by the authority will be equipped with a 142 kW charger, a 50 kVA transformer for power supply, and an online billing system.
Fast charging 60 kilowatt DC and 22 kilowatt AC chargers will be placed at the charging station. With this, three vehicles including a big bus can be charged simultaneously.
The software of the charging station will be kept in the authority’s data center which can serve more than 300 chargers. All 50 stations will be controlled from Kathmandu. After charging the vehicle, the customer can pay the bill through the QR code and mobile app.
Earlier,A memorandum of understanding has already been signed between the Authority and the Nepal Police to establish charging stations at 25 different places.
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has started exporting electricity from Trishuli and Devighat hydropower plants to India. In India’s competitive energy exchange market , Nepal has its electricity for sale in a ‘block’ every 15 minutes.
Although electricity for each block is sold at different prices, India has set a limit of Rs 12 per unit. Although the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) will get a maximum price of up to Rs 12, electricity will be sold at an average price of 6.28 Indian rupees (10 rupees 4 paise Nepali rupees) per unit. NEA is also preparing electricity for sale of Kaligandaki A Hydropower Project.
Nepal had sought approval from Indian companies for the sale of 200 MW of electricity after receiving approval for the sale of up to 364 MW of electricity in the Indian market. NEA has also called for tenders to sell the electricity stored in Nepal during the rainy season in India. NEA has prepared to export the surplus electricity through Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV inter-country transmission line.
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