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Nepal will export only 40 megawatts (MW) of electricity to Bangladesh from June 15, as India has not granted approval for an additional 20 MW export, energy officials said.

Officials said the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) of India has withheld approval due to transmission line capacity constraints. They added that further procedures, including a revised or new tripartite agreement and a decision from the Nepal–India Energy Secretary-level Joint Steering Committee (JSC), are still required.

Nepal has been exporting surplus electricity to India and Bangladesh during the monsoon season. In winter, however, it imports electricity from India.

A JSC meeting held in Dhaka on November 27, 2025, had agreed in principle to expand exports by an additional 20 MW under the existing 40 MW arrangement. The meeting had also reached an understanding to move forward with the necessary procedures.

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) had formally requested NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited India (NVVN) to facilitate the additional 20 MW export. However, NVVN later stated that the India–Bangladesh transmission line, with a capacity of 1,000 MW, could not accommodate the additional allocation, according to officials.

“This time, only 40 MW of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh. Although a tripartite agreement for the additional 20 MW had not yet been completed, like the earlier 40 MW arrangement, we had initiated the process through NVVN at India’s CEA,” said Tharka Bahadur Thapa, director of NEA’s electricity trade department. “But the response was that the transmission line does not have capacity for the additional 20 MW.”

Officials said the proposed expansion will now require further decisions from the upcoming Nepal–India JSC meeting and the secretary-level Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting in Nepal. However, these meetings have not yet been scheduled.

Earlier, even the 40 MW export arrangement was finalised through decisions taken at the Nepal–India JSC meeting. On January 5, 2024, the JSC meeting reached an agreement in principle allowing Nepal to export 40 MW of electricity to Bangladesh using India’s transmission system, in line with India’s import-export guidelines, through a tripartite agreement between the NEA, NVVN and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).

On October 2, 2024, another JSC meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh agreed to proceed with the tripartite deal. The following day, a tripartite agreement was signed among the NEA, BPDB and NVVN. Under this agreement, 40 MW of electricity has been exported annually from June 15 to November 15.

For the additional 20 MW, further discussions at the Nepal–India JSC and subsequent approval from India’s CEA will be required, followed by a new tripartite agreement. Once approved, total exports to Bangladesh will rise to 60 MW, while other terms will remain unchanged, the NEA said.

Nepal first exported electricity to Bangladesh for 12 hours on November 15, 2024. Nepal’s electricity is transmitted through the Dhalkebar–Muzaffarpur 400 kV transmission line into India, and then through the Baharampur–Bheramara 400 kV line into Bangladesh.

The currently approved 40 MW export is generated from the Trishuli and Chilime hydropower projects. These projects have also received approval to export electricity to India. For the additional 20 MW intended for Bangladesh, the same projects will require separate approval from India before exports can proceed.

Nepal has been selling electricity to Bangladesh at 6.40 US cents per unit, a rate that will also apply to the additional 20 MW, according to the authority.

So far, Nepal has obtained approval to export a total of 1,165 MW of electricity to India and Bangladesh combined. Electricity is sold in India through the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) in the day-ahead and real-time markets at competitive rates. Nepal also sells electricity under a medium-term agreement with NVVN.

Electricity trade with India is conducted in Indian rupees, while transactions with Bangladesh are in US dollars.

India first approved electricity imports from Nepal in October 2021, allowing 39 MW. Nepal has since secured approval to export around 1,200 MW to India.

In the first ten months of the current fiscal year, Nepal exported electricity worth Rs20.9952 billion to India and Bangladesh. In the same period of the previous fiscal year, exports stood at Rs13.1033 billion.