KATHMANDU: Nepal and India have agreed to increase Nepal’s electricity export capacity to 1,650 megawatts (MW), up from the current 1,100 MW, following bilateral meetings on power sector cooperation held in Pokhara.
The agreement was reached during the 13th meeting of the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) and the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Power Sector Cooperation, which concluded on Wednesday.
The JSC meeting was co-chaired by Sarita Dawadi, Secretary at Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, and Pankaj Agarwal, Secretary of India’s Ministry of Power.
According to Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, the two sides agreed under the Combined Power Transfer arrangement to increase Nepal’s electricity export capacity to India to 1,650 MW.
The agreement also raises India’s electricity export capacity to Nepal to 1,400 MW, up from the existing 1,000 MW, through the Dhalkebar–Muzaffarpur and Dhalkebar–Sitamadhi cross-border transmission lines.
During the meetings, officials reviewed the progress of bilateral cooperation in the power sector, including hydropower development, cross-border electricity trade and transmission infrastructure.
The two sides also discussed measures to expedite the implementation of ongoing and planned power generation and transmission projects aimed at further strengthening energy cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.
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