Nepal begins power supply to Bangladesh

NN Online:

Nepal has officially started supplying electricity to Bangladesh on Friday, marking its first-ever electricity export to a country other than India. In accordance with a trilateral agreement, Nepal sent power to Bangladesh through India. The electricity export commenced following a virtual ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital.

Spokesperson for Nepal Electricity Authority Chandan Kumar Ghosh said, “Under the trilateral agreement, Nepal will be able to sell electricity to Bangladesh for just one day in 2024. Since there is no direct electrical connection between Bangladesh and Nepal, the electricity will be transmitted through India’s transmission lines. The supply of electricity is set to resume regularly from June 15, 2025,” reports Xinhua.

The trilateral agreement for electricity export was signed at the beginning of October. According to the agreement, Nepal will supply electricity to Bangladesh every year from June 15 to November 15, starting in 2025 and continuing through 2029.

Due to limited additional capacity in the connection between the grids of India and Bangladesh, Nepal will only be able to send 40 megawatts electricity. Bangladesh will purchase the electricity at a rate of 8.17 rupees per unit, which includes the cost of transmission through India’s lines.

However, spokesperson Chandan Kumar Ghosh mentioned that if the capacity of the transmission lines increases in the future, Nepal will be able to send more electricity to Bangladesh.