Import of additional power from India to take 4 months

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    KATHMANDU, Dec 30: It will take up to four months to import power from India even though the Indian government expressed commitment to export additional 55 MW power to Nepal during President Dr Ram Baran Yadav´s five-day visit to southern neighbor, officials said.

    “People might have to wait for the next four months for the load-shedding hours to actually go down,” said Rameshwar Yadav, managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

    Yadav, who will visit India next week to arrange logistics for the import of electricity from India, attributed the delay to transmission line constraints. “Our existing transmission lines have the capacity to import around 180 MW,” Yadav said. “But it would take around four months to fix some technical issues.”

    Nepal currently imports a total of 115 MW of electricity from India. “However, we will import additional electricity from India in this very dry season,” Yadav said, adding that his visit to India will focus on other mid-term plans for load-shedding reduction.

    India had agreed to provide a total of 200MW electricity to Nepal during Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai´s visit last year. “We will have meetings with officials from Power Trading Corporation of India (PTC) to push them to work speedily in expanding transmission lines on the Indian side,” Yadav said.

    Additionally, during the meeting, the team will also discuss speeding up the process of upgrading Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur (400 KVA) transmission line. “We have almost completed work on our part,” Yadav told Republica. “We will now ask Indian officials to speed up their work.”

    In November 2009, NEA and Indian stakeholders — PTC, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FC) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) — had set May 2010 as the deadline for completion of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and financial closure of the project. However, nothing has been completed so far.

    “Absence of cross-border transmission line is a major bottleneck for power trade between the two countries,” Yadav said. “We will focus on completing the task of financial closure of the project.”

    Meanwhile, independent experts claim that the import of power from India will not materialize during this dry season. “There are several technical problems,” a hydropower expert said. “India´s commitment has come just as a courtesy to show that India is concerned about Nepali people.”

    Source : The Republica

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    भारतबाट थप ७० मेगावाट विद्युत् आयात गरिने

    काठमाडौ, पुस १३ – नेपाल विद्युत् प्राधिकरणका उच्च अधिकारीहरू मुलुकको लोडसेडिङ कम गर्न भारतबाट थप बिजुली आयात गर्नका लागि भारतीय अधिकारीहरूसित वार्ता गर्न अर्को साता नयाँदिल्ली जाने भएका छन् ।

    प्राधिकरण सञ्चालक समितिको मंगलबार बसेको निर्णयअनुसार प्राधिकरणका कार्यकारी निर्देशक रामेश्वर यादवको नेतृत्वमा भारतको जलस्रोत मन्त्रालय र ऊर्जा दलाल कम्पनी पावर ट्रेडिङ कर्पोरेसनका अधिकारीसित वार्ता गर्न जान लागेको हो ।

    प्राधिकरणको टोली भारत जाने दिन तय हुन बाँकी छ । प्राधिकरणका कार्यकारी निर्देशक यादवले आफूहरूले भारतीय अधिकारीसित वार्ताका लागि अर्को साता आउने प्रस्ताव गरिसकेको जानकारी दिँदै भारतीय पक्षलाई अनुकूल हुने आगामी साताको कुनै दिन आफूहरू भारत जाने जानकारी दिए ।

    नेपाली टोलीले भारतीय अधिकारीसित वार्ता गरी भारतबाट तत्काल थप ७० मेगावाट विद्युत् दिन सहमत गराउन प्रयास गर्ने जानकारी प्राधिकरणका अधिकारीले दिए ।

    ती अधिकारीका अनुसार भारतबाट हाल १ सय २० मेगावाटको हाराहारीमा विद्युत् आयात भइरहेको छ । भारतबाट हाल सम्भाव्य सबै बिन्दुका प्रसारण लाइनबाट १ सय ९० मेगावाट विद्युत् आयात गर्न सकिन्छ । भारतबाट तत्काल थप ७० मेगावाट विद्युत् आयात गर्न सके मुलुकमा दैनिक २ घन्टाभन्दा बढी लोडसेडिङ घटाउन सकिने जानकारी प्राधिकरणका अधिकारीले दिए ।

    ‘प्राधिकरणको सञ्चालक समितिको निर्णयअनुसार हामी अर्को साता भारत जाँदै छौं । भारतबाट हाल १ सय ९० मेगावाट विद्युत् आयात गर्न सकिने अवस्था छ तर भारतले १ सय २० मेगावाट मात्र दिइरहेको छ । हामीले १ सय ९० मेगावाट नै विद्युत् दिन भारतको जलस्रोत मन्त्रालय र पावर ट्रेड कर्पोरेसनका अधिकारीसित वार्ता गर्ने छौं,’ यादवले भने, ‘अर्कोतर्फबाट भारतबाट थप बिजुली आयात गर्न भारत र नेपाल दुवैतर्फका सीमानजिकका प्रसारण लाइन सुदृढीकरण गर्न आवश्यक छ ।

    Source : ekantipur