NEA Allowed to Sell Electricity in India’s Real-Time Market

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received approval to participate in India’s Energy Exchange (IEX) real-time electricity market. This marks a historic milestone as NEA had previously operated in India’s competitive energy market by bidding one day in advance. With this new permission, NEA will now have the ability to sell electricity by bidding just one hour and fifteen minutes before the actual delivery.

The Central Electricity Authority, operating under India’s Ministry of Power, granted this permission on a recent Saturday, opening up exciting opportunities for electricity trade between Nepal and India. This move comes after the Ministry of Power of India amended procedures on July 31, allowing authorized bodies of neighboring countries to participate in the real-time electricity market.

In its initial phase, the Central Electricity Authority of India has approved the sale of approximately 44 MW of electricity generated by the 19.4 MW Lower Modi and 24.25 MW Kabeli B1 hydroelectric projects in the real-time market. Previously, both of these projects had been selling their electricity exclusively in the day-ahead market, which has now expired.

Prabal Adhikari, director of the power trade department of the NEA, expressed excitement about this development, stating, “Earlier, we had to wait a day to import and export electricity through the competitive market, but now we are able to do business by bidding one hour and fifteen minutes in advance. This has made it possible to buy and sell electricity in the event of a sudden halt in electricity production or an increase in production.”

He further emphasized the significance of this achievement, describing it as a new experience and a step forward in facilitating power management and electricity trade between Nepal and India.

The NEA has traditionally exported electricity to India, particularly during the rainy season, after meeting domestic demand. This involves selling approximately 110 MW of electricity to the Indian company NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd-NVVN through competitive bidding on IEX’s day-ahead market and, more recently, under a mid-term power agreement. NVVN then distributes this electricity within the Indian state of Haryana.

In total, the NEA has received approval to export 632 MW of electricity, including 522 MW in the competitive market and 110 MW to Haryana State through NVVN. The electricity export comprises 562 MW from the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV interstate transmission line and 70 MW from the Mahendranagar-Tanakpur 132 kV transmission line. Impressively, the Authority has already exported electricity worth Rs 5 billion 433 million 100 thousand in the first two months of the current fiscal year 2023/24.