Nepal Earns Rs 5 Billion From Power Exports in A Month

Kathmandu: Nepal exported electricity worth more than Rs 5.09 billion in a single month, even as devastating floods damaged hydropower infrastructure and disrupted power exports to Bangladesh.

According to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Nepal exported 565.60 million units of electricity to India and Bangladesh between mid-August and mid-September. The electricity was sold through bilateral agreements as well as India's power exchange market.

Of the total exports, 421.62 million units worth more than Rs 3.64 billion were supplied to Bangladesh and the Indian states of Haryana and Bihar under bilateral power trading arrangements.

Meanwhile, Nepal exported another 143.98 million units through India's electricity exchange market, generating approximately Rs 1.44 billion in revenue.

However, the country's expanding electricity export drive has come under pressure following the devastating Bhotekoshi floods of August 26, which damaged hydropower infrastructure in Rasuwa and Nuwakot. The damage forced Nepal to halt electricity exports to Bangladesh.

The NEA is currently awaiting India's approval to resume exports to Bangladesh using electricity generated by other hydropower projects.

The floods damaged infrastructure associated with 11 hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 405 MW, along with a 25 MW solar project in Rasuwa and Nuwakot. The disruption has raised concerns over the reliability of Nepal's electricity export infrastructure and the country's ability to sustain growing power exports in the coming months.

Nepal's recent export figures demonstrate the growing importance of electricity as an export commodity, but the flood damage has also exposed the vulnerability of the country's generation and transmission infrastructure to extreme weather events.