KATHMANDU: The Power/Energy Secretaries of India and Nepal co-chaired the 8th meeting of the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) on Cooperation in the Power sector that was held through video conferencing on Friday.

Indian Power Secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai was accompanied by Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and a 17 member delegation drawn from various Ministries and public sector undertakings of the Government of India including NHPC Limited, NTPC Limited, and the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

Likewise, Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Secretary (Energy) of Nepal was assisted by representatives of various Ministries and Departments of Government of Nepal.

The Joint Working Group meeting at the level of Joint Secretaries was held yesterday in preparation for this meeting.

The JSC is the apex bilateral mechanism for enhancing and coordinating various Government-to-Government led initiatives in the power sector.

The meeting reviewed the progress made on bilateral processes and initiatives in this sector.

Both sides discussed, inter alia, development of suitable rules and guidelines for allowing access to Nepali power producers to Indian markets, development of energy banking mechanism, development of cross border high voltage transmission lines as well as reviewing the progress of the SJVN Limited- developed 900MW Arun-III Hydro Electric Project in Nepal and agreeing to further facilitate its expeditious implementation, Indian Embassy said in a press release.

Both Governments have been coordinating closely with each other in this sector. Consequently, progress made in the last five years in this sector has been exemplary, it added.

This includes completion of South Asia’s first cross border 400 KV transmission line at Muzaffarpur-Dhalkebar, agreement on funding modality for Gorakhpur-Butwal 400 KV line for which the construction will commence soon, and the brisk progress on the 900 MW Arun-III Hydro Electric Project.

Both sides are also close to finalizing the regulatory modality for allowing Nepali power producers access to the Indian power market which will provide an outlet for Nepal’s surplus power in the coming months.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the power sector cooperation between the two countries, including the development of an integrated grid, the building of more cross border transmission lines, as required, as well as investing in Nepal’s hydro and solar power projects.

The positive and wide-ranging discussions today are expected to further support the expansion in power sector cooperation between India and Nepal.