Work plan ready for power export to India: PM Oli

Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has informed the lawmakers that the government has readied a roadmap and work plan to export 10,000 MW of electricity to India.

Responding to the lawmakers’ queries in the House of Representatives on Thursday, the Prime Minister said the roadmap and work plan, for 2080 was prepared as per the long-term power trade agreement. The roadmap has mentioned that around 13,500 MW of electricity would be consumed internally and some 15,000 MW exported to India and Bangladesh by the fiscal year, 2091/92.

The PM further said the government had made a plan to reach Nepal’s total power production capacity to 28,000 MW by that time. The roadmap and work plan were already presented in the Council of Ministers. Currently, Nepal’s power production capacity is around 3,240 MW.

PM Oli shared further information on the ongoing process of power exports and the projection of power production. Various high voltage inter-state transmission lines were being developed for the power trade of as much as 10,000 MW with India in the coming 10 years. The hydropower projects promoted by India in Nepal are estimated to have the production of 3,679 MW electricity.

Similarly, the projects which are under the process of agreement are expected to produce 5,648 MW of electricity. The mega projects to be run under government ownership and for which a feasibility study has been conducted are projected to produce 4,431 MW of electricity.

‘The first Nepal-India interstate transmission line, Dhalkebar-Mujaffarpur of 400 KV, has been in operation since 2016. The Arun-III hydropower is being promoted by an Indian company, while the Dhalkebar-Sitamadhi 400 KV interstate electricity transmission line is aimed at being completed within this year.’

The PM also shared other under-construction power projects including the Butwal-Gorakhpur 400 KV transmission line with a capacity of 2,500 MW, and those under implementation like the Inaruwa-Poornia 400 KV transmission line with a capacity of 2,500 MW, and the Lamki-Bareli.

‘Nepal’s internal power transmission system needs to be robust and capable to ensure 10,000 MW power export to India via Nepal-India interstate power transmission lines,’ he underlined. For it, the Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa 400KV transmission line was in the final stage.

The construction of the Lapsiphedi-Ratmate-New Hetauda and Ratmate-New Damauli-New Butwal 400KV electricity transmission line will begin soon. Also shared information by the PM about electricity production were Khimti-Bahrabise-Kathmandu 400KV, Marsyangdi corridor 220 KV, and Chilime-Trishuli 220KV.

‘The power trade agreement between Nepal and Bangladesh was scheduled for signing on July 28, which however was postponed at the last minute due to recent unrests in Bangladesh,’ PM Oli informed.

Given the formation of an interim government in Bangladesh, the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation are taking initiatives for signing the agreement at the earliest, the PM added. Nepal is going to start by exporting 40MW of electricity to Bangladesh in the first phase.