India informed of Nepal’s agreement with Bangladesh

Nepal has informed India about an understanding it has recently reached with Bangladesh on finishing a trilateral agreement on power trade between the three countries.

Sushil Chandra Tiwari, the secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, shared the development with The Kathmandu Post, according to a report published on Sunday.

He said they have sent a notification to India about the decision Nepal and Bangladesh have reached.

The issue will be discussed during the next meeting on the energy of the Joint Secretary Level Joint Working Group (JWG) and Secretary Level Joint Steering Committee (JSC) between Nepal and India is scheduled to be held later this year, said The Kathmandu Post report.

In line with the decision of the meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has also written to the NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) of India about holding talks for the trilateral arrangement, said the report.

The NVVN is the Indian government agency that handles cross-border power trade with neighbouring countries.

In early August, Nepal and Bangladesh agreed that NEA and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) would send a request to the NVVN for the agreement to enable the export of 40-50 megawatts of power generated in Nepal to Bangladesh.

As per the results of the meetings of JWG and JSC held on August 10, the two sides agreed that the electricity can be exported from Nepal through the Bheramara High Voltage Direct Current in Bangladesh for now.

They also agreed to take initiatives to reach the tripartite agreement between Nepal, Bangladesh and India to set up a dedicated transmission line between Nepal and Bangladesh through Indian territory.

NEA’s Power Trade Department Director Prabal Adhikari told The Kathmandu Post that they urged NVVN in late August, in line with the Nepal-Bangladesh power trade agreement, to take necessary steps on the trilateral agreement.

Nepal is yet to receive any formal response from NVVN, he said.

Nepal and Bangladesh aim to trade power using the Baharampur-Bheramara cross-border transmission line, which, inaugurated in 2013, links India and Bangladesh and facilitates the exchange of 500MW electricity.

Adhikari said no trilateral meeting has happened yet but the matter has been discussed during meetings between Nepal and India in recent years.

During a state visit to India in September, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also formally requested India to allow Bangladesh passage to import electricity from Nepal and Bhutan.

In response, India said it already has the Guidelines for Export/Import (Cross Border) of Electricity 2018 that opens the door for a trilateral agreement and power trade between Nepal and Bangladesh.

Quoting officials, The Kathmandu Post report said it’s possible that Nepal can start exporting some electricity to Bangladesh in the next rainy season.