Nepal’s Electricity Exports to India Surge, Imports Decline

Nepal’s electricity exports to India witnessed a significant surge, reaching Rs 12.40 billion during the period from mid-July to mid-January this year, marking a substantial increase of 47.97 percent compared to the same period last year, as reported by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) records.

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) exported electricity worth Rs 8.38 billion to India during the corresponding period last year. This year’s earnings from electricity exports also surpassed the entire fiscal year’s figure from 2022/23, amounting to Rs 10.42 billion.

Officials from the NEA attribute this surge in electricity exports to Nepal’s permission to sell electricity in the day-ahead market of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), facilitating transactions from 14 hydropower projects.

Simultaneously, Nepal witnessed a decline of 13 percent in electricity imports from India during the review period. The NRB data indicates that electricity imports by NEA dropped to Rs 2.73 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year, down from Rs 3.14 billion in the same period last year.

Despite these positive trends in exports and imports, industries in Nepal continue to face challenges, with reports of up to eight hours of daily power cuts. Industrialists have criticized NEA for alleged undeclared load shedding, although the NRB records show a decline in the country’s electricity import bills.

In the last fiscal year, Nepal imported electricity worth Rs 19.44 billion, primarily during the dry season in the second half of the fiscal year. The decline in imports coupled with the surge in exports signals a positive trend for Nepal’s energy sector, albeit challenges persist for the industrial sector in managing power supply.