The meeting of the Joint Technical Team (JTT) between Nepal and India has started in New Delhi.

The meeting will discuss technical issues. On behalf of Nepal, Sandeep Kumar Dev, the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, is participating in the meeting.

Starting tomorrow, there will be a meeting of the Joint Steering Committee (JWG) at the level of the Deputy Secretary of Energy. This time, there will be no meeting at the Secretary level. “Previously, the Secretary-level meeting used to approve the issues finalized by the Deputy Secretary-level meeting. As far as I know, there has never been a Secretary-level meeting along with the Deputy Secretary-level meeting until now,” said the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation. “Once the Deputy Secretary-level meeting concludes, a Secretary-level meeting will likely be held soon.”

Some have commented that the meeting has not taken place due to the current government led by KP Sharma Oli not having good relations with the Indian government. Although Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has already completed an official visit to China, India has not extended an invitation for a visit to him.

This time, the agenda of the Deputy Secretary-level meeting includes not only the buying and selling of electricity but also finalizing the modalities of the transmission lines. According to the Deputy Secretary, preparations are underway to finalize the modalities for the Nepal-India cross-border 400 kV Dodhara-Bareilly and Inaruwa-Purnia transmission lines.

The goal has been set to complete the Inaruwa-Purnia transmission line by the fiscal year 2027/28. The Lamki (Dodhara)-Bareilly transmission line is targeted for completion by the fiscal year 2028/29. Both of these transmission lines are agreed upon by Nepal and India to be completed by the specified dates. According to sources, the section from the border to Gorakhpur on the Indian side will be constructed by a company in which Nepal Electricity Authority and Power Grid Corporation of India have a 50/50 percent shareholding.

India has proposed to create a company with 51 percent shareholding by the Nepal Electricity Authority and 49 percent by India’s Power Grid Corporation to construct the section on the Nepal side, while for the remaining section on the Indian side, a company with 51 percent shareholding by the Indian side and 49 percent by the Nepali side will be formed. This proposal is under discussion between the two parties. India has expressed a different opinion on this matter.

Currently, only the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV transmission line is operational between Nepal and India. Some 132 kV lines are also operational. The Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line allows for the import/export of up to 1000 megawatts. Although it has a capacity of 2000 megawatts, due to the N Minus One criteria, only 1000 megawatts can be imported/exported.

A long-term electricity trade agreement has been signed between Nepal and India to export 10,000 megawatts of electricity over the next 10 years. The target is to export 5,000 megawatts to countries including Bangladesh. Electricity trade with Bangladesh has already started with 40 megawatts. However, currently, there is infrastructure to export approximately 1,200 megawatts to India.

In the monsoon season, surplus electricity is exported, while during the winter, electricity is imported to meet the shortfall. Since most of the hydroelectric projects are river-based, even with imports from India, industrial load shedding occurs. India provides electricity only during solar hours, which has resulted in industrial load shedding for up to 8 hours daily.

There will also be discussions regarding the import of electricity during winter and export during the monsoon. Due to India not purchasing electricity during the monsoon, there is a situation where it has to be wasted. Currently, Nepal’s total installed capacity has reached around 3,400 megawatts, while the internal consumption is below 2,000 megawatts. In the monsoon, since there is no internal consumption for surplus electricity, there is a compulsion to sell it.

Source: ClickMandu