Historic Milestone: Nepal Begins Electricity Export to Bangladesh for the First Time
Nepal has started exporting electricity to Bangladesh for the first time in history today. The electricity was successfully sent to Bangladesh on Friday after approval from India.
A three-party agreement was signed between Nepal, India and Bangladesh on October 3 regarding power trade. As per the agreement, Nepal can export its surplus electricity to Bangladesh via India from June 15 to November 15 every year.
Electricity from the 25 MW Trishuli and 22 MW Chilime hydropower projects, developed by NEA with Indian financial support, will be exported to Bangladesh via the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV transmission line.
Both projects are approved to sell power to India. The export meter will be in Muzaffarpur, India, where NEA will bear any technical losses between Dhalkebar and Muzaffarpur. From Muzaffarpur, electricity will flow to Bangladesh through the Behrampur-Bhedamara 400 kV line.
The NEA will receive payment based on the Muzaffarpur meter readings.
At a rate of 6.40 US cents per unit, this will generate approximately 9.2 million US dollars in revenue over five months.
This is the first time in Nepali power trade history that electricity is being exported to a country other than India and traded in U.S. dollars. After today, Nepal will have to wait until the next year to resume exports.