Nepal imports 367 MW of electricity from India, despite govt claim of energy surplus in the country

Nepal on Wednesday imported 367 MW of electricity from India to meet its domestic demand, at a time when the government is pushing the households to increase electricity consumption on the pretext of having sufficient electricity production. 

The records with Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) show that around 23 percent of the total electricity demand is fulfilled by imported energy. Currently, the peak demand from the domestic sector stands at 1,619 MW. 

According to the NEA, the fall in electricity production by the hydropower projects along with a rise in demand due to a drop in temperature has led to an increase in import of electricity. Just two weeks ago, the country imported 127 MW of electricity from its southern neighbor. 

With the mismatch between demand and supply of electricity, people at various locations across the country have been suffering from hours of power cuts, which the state-owned power utility has been blaming on the problems of poor transmission lines and substations. NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising himself has started field visits for maintenance of the related infrastructure.

Earlier, NEA declared that the country has surplus electricity production after the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi came online in September last year. In addition, the government has targeted to increase the production to 3,000 MW from the existing capacity to produce 2,000 MW by the end of this fiscal year. Despite the government’s commitment to make a smooth supply of electricity amid increasing production, people are yet to realize that. 

Republica