Kathmandu: The domestic peak hour demand for electricity hit 1,876 MW on Monday due to the rise in temperature and a number of industries starting to run their production plants in maximum capacity.

According to the records of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the energy demand has surged by over 400 MW in the past few months. Until mid-April this year, the domestic energy demand stood at 1,400 MW.

Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai, Spokesperson of NEA, said the demand has surged to 40,889 MWh. It means the consumption has now reached 40.889 million units.

With the start of the rainy season, the hydropower plants have also started producing at their maximum capacity, according to NEA. This has led the country to export a larger amount of electricity to India.

Nepal is now exporting 6,292 MWh of electricity to India at an average rate of Rs 9.80 per unit. Similarly, the country imports 2,118 MWh from its southern neighbor.

Nepal now produces 38,646 MWh of electricity. Of the amount, NEA produces 10,493 MWh and its subsidiary companies produce 11,891 MWh and private sector companies produce 16,262 MWh.