Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is importing electricity from India at a lower cost to address the winter demand. The recent agreement with Power Trading Corporation (PTC) Nepal allows for this electricity import. Nepal primarily relies on run-of-river hydropower projects for its national electricity system. During the rainy season, surplus electricity is exported, while in the dry season, Nepal imports electricity from India to meet domestic demand. Last year, Nepal exported 2.38 billion units of electricity and imported 1.68 billion units from India. NEA clarified in a press release that

some media reports and social media comments about the agreement for winter electricity management are distorted and misleading.Issuing a press note on recent news on the agreement NEA said it has taken serious note of the distorted and misleading news disseminated in some media outlets and the comments circulating on social media regarding the agreement made for electricity management during the upcoming winter season.

The Authority has been importing electricity from India through the Day-Ahead and Real-Time markets of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and through other power exchange mechanisms. However, due to increasing electricity demand in recent years, Nepal was allowed to import electricity from India during last year’s dry months only during “solar hours” - that is, from 6 AM to 6 PM - and excluding some evening and night hours. A similar situation is expected in the current fiscal year as well. Therefore, to ensure reliable power supply during the dry season, NEA deemed it necessary to purchase a certain portion of electricity as base import, selecting the most appropriate and cost-effective option available.

For this purpose, on 13 Shrawan 2082 (around July 28, 2025), NEA requested proposals for electricity purchase through a bilateral agreement from PTC India Ltd. (a company with Indian government investment) and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), another Indian government entity.

PTC India submitted a proposal on 23 Shrawan 2082, offering to supply power at a landed tariff of INR 6.74 per unit (including transmission, losses, and other charges) for one month, provided that the agreement was finalized by 23 Bhadra 2082. NVVN, on the other hand, proposed a landed tariff of INR 7.70 per unit. However, due to delays in decision-making by the then NEA Board of Directors and management, the PTC proposal automatically expired on 23 Bhadra 2082.

After that, NEA again requested new proposals. PTC then submitted a revised proposal on 6 Ashoj 2082, offering a landed tariff of INR 6.95 per unit, while NVVN revised its rate to INR 7.67 per unit. Thus, PTC’s offer-through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line-was INR 0.72 per unit cheaper than NVVN’s.

Likewise, the Nepal-India Power Exchange Committee (PEC) has fixed a take-and-pay rate of INR 8.10 per unit at 132 kV voltage for electricity purchases until next March. Last year, NEA had an agreement with NVVN for the purchase of 230 MW of power at INR 7.05 per unit during the dry months, but the agreement could not be implemented as approval was not obtained from India’s Designated Authority.

Comparing NVVN’s proposed rate of INR 7.67 per unit, PEC’s rate of INR 8.10 per unit, last year’s NVVN rate of INR 7.05 per unit, and last year’s maximum real-time market rate of INR 10 per unit (with limited power availability at that price), PTC’s current proposal of INR 6.95 per unit was the lowest and most favorable.

Therefore, NEA’s Board of Directors, in its meeting on 10 Ashoj 2082, decided to purchase 80 MW of electricity through the 132 kV Bihar-Nepal transmission line and 100 MW through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line in round-the-clock (RTC) mode from PTC India, from January to May 2026. This agreement has also been approved by the Electricity Regulatory Commission. The agreement has been submitted to the Indian Designated Authority for concurrence and will come into effect only after obtaining approval from that body.

Hence, NEA clarifies that neither the current Board of Directors nor the management has taken any decisions harmful to the institution or the nation. The misleading information circulated in the media targeting Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister, Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Urban Development Minister, and NEA Board Chairman Kulman Ghising, as well as NEA Executive Director Manoj Silwal, appears to be part of a deliberate attempt to defame them. NEA requests everyone not to be misled by such false propaganda.