India, Nepal, Bangladesh sign trilateral agreement to facilitate power export from Nepal to Bangladesh

Oct 04, 2024

Kathmandu (Nepal), OCT 04 (ANI): India, Nepal, and Bangladesh signed a trilateral agreement to export 40 Megawatts of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh via India's power grid, a development hailed and welcomed by officials of all three nations involved. The tripartite agreement signed in Kathmandu now enables Nepal to sell electricity to a third country for the first time. Nepal has only been exporting electricity to India, its southern neighbour. The agreement was signed by Kulman Ghising, executive director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Renu Narang, CEO of India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam, and Mohammad Rezaul Karim, chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board amid a function in Kathmandu. Energy Minister Deepak Khadka, Minister of State for Energy Purna Bahadur Tamang, and Bangladeshi Minister for Forest, Environment, Climate Change, and Water Resources Syeda Rizwana Hasan witnessed the signing of the deal. As per the agreement, Bangladesh will now import 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal. The Indian side has also been involved in the trade deal as Nepal's electricity will be transmitted to Bangladesh through the transmission infrastructure on the Indian territory. Notably, Nepal and Bangladesh are not territorially linked to each other. Nepal is estimated to sell 144,000 MWh (megawatt-hour) of electricity in five months mid-June to mid-November-at the rate of 6.4 US cents a unit. Originally scheduled for July 28, the signing was postponed due to political tension and a change of government in Bangladesh. For now, Nepal will transmit the energy to India through the 400KV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line before India transmits the equivalent to Bangladesh.