Nepal and India have decided to strengthen cross-border electricity interconnections between those two countries. They have committed to developing new high-quality transmission lines and upgrading existing transmission lines to make cross-border electricity trading more convenient and efficient. For Nepal, which wants to generate a staggering 28,500 megawatts of power by 2035, this is a giant leap forward.
New transmission lines engaged in 2034/35 which also include Nijgadh-Harnaiya Motihari and Kohalpur-Lucknow. These will carry 400 KV of electricity, important for the countries to see better power-sharing. The current Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line will also be upgraded to transfer additional electricity. Currently this line has an import capacity of 800 megawatts, which the upgrade will enhance.
Nepal and India will do an electricity trade of up to 1,000 megawatts, in accordance with a decision made in a recent meeting between officials. That means Nepal can import or export power depending on demand and supply at that time.
The deal is part of a broader plan to boost energy relations between the two neighboring countries. Earlier, they had also agreed to construct two other cross-border transmission lines: Inaruwa-Purniya and Dodhara-Bareli. These projects will contribute to fulfilling Nepal's increasing energy requirements and assist the country in achieving its objective of becoming a significant regional electricity producer.
Senior officials on energy from both countries, including Suresh Acharya of Nepal’s Ministry of Energy and Pankaj Agrawal of India’s Ministry of Electricity were present in the meeting. Nepal and India embarks on a better and energy secure future with weaving together energy security projects.
